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02-08-2005, 08:41 AM
Royal Harrison's ex-girlfriend was left bankrupt by his use of her name to get loans and buy vehicles
By CAROL DeMARE, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, February 8, 2005
ALBANY -- In what a local postal inspector called the worst case of identity fraud he has seen in this area, a Washington County man was sentenced to two years for stealing more than $300,000 using a former girlfriend's identity.
The scheme lasted several months, forcing the victim to declare bankruptcy, Inspector Ray Smith said.
Royal Harrison, 47, of Hampton, was sentenced in federal court recently by District Court Judge David Hurd for his guilty plea to identity fraud.
The sentence will run consecutively to 10 years in state prison Harrison received last April in Schenectady County for the robbery at gunpoint of an armored truck courier inside a Glenville Kmart on Christmas Eve 2002.
In the federal case, Harrison, acting alone, and at times with a woman accomplice, took out three personal loans from private loan agencies in the victim's name, using her Social Security number and driver's license, which he had stolen, Smith said.
He also purchased an Audi and a large Chevrolet pickup, Smith added. The court ordered restitution of $308,795, he said.
"Not only was this the worst case of identity fraud, but the highest dollar amount attached to a single victim," Smith said. "Usually in cases this high, it's multiple victims."
An investigation was launched when the victim, who operated a horse training business in Bethlehem, reported that a $23,000 business tax refund check never showed up in the mail, Smith said.
Officials couldn't prove Harrison had stolen the check, but they traced its deposit to an account he had opened in the victim's name, the inspector said.
Harrison had been in a business and romantic relationship with the woman, Smith said. After stealing her license, he recruited Mary Ann Panetta, 40, of Schenectady, who helped take out the personal loans in late 2000 and 2001 by posing as the victim, Smith said.
Panetta is serving three years in state prison for a Westchester County robbery. She cooperated with federal authorities and got 12 months for the identity theft to run concurrently, Smith said.
Harrison also pleaded guilty in Albany County Court in December 2003 to planting dynamite in his former girlfriend's garage, Smith said. He had worked as a blaster at Vermont slate quarries and had access to dynamite, he said. That sentence runs concurrently with the Glenville robbery.
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By CAROL DeMARE, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, February 8, 2005
ALBANY -- In what a local postal inspector called the worst case of identity fraud he has seen in this area, a Washington County man was sentenced to two years for stealing more than $300,000 using a former girlfriend's identity.
The scheme lasted several months, forcing the victim to declare bankruptcy, Inspector Ray Smith said.
Royal Harrison, 47, of Hampton, was sentenced in federal court recently by District Court Judge David Hurd for his guilty plea to identity fraud.
The sentence will run consecutively to 10 years in state prison Harrison received last April in Schenectady County for the robbery at gunpoint of an armored truck courier inside a Glenville Kmart on Christmas Eve 2002.
In the federal case, Harrison, acting alone, and at times with a woman accomplice, took out three personal loans from private loan agencies in the victim's name, using her Social Security number and driver's license, which he had stolen, Smith said.
He also purchased an Audi and a large Chevrolet pickup, Smith added. The court ordered restitution of $308,795, he said.
"Not only was this the worst case of identity fraud, but the highest dollar amount attached to a single victim," Smith said. "Usually in cases this high, it's multiple victims."
An investigation was launched when the victim, who operated a horse training business in Bethlehem, reported that a $23,000 business tax refund check never showed up in the mail, Smith said.
Officials couldn't prove Harrison had stolen the check, but they traced its deposit to an account he had opened in the victim's name, the inspector said.
Harrison had been in a business and romantic relationship with the woman, Smith said. After stealing her license, he recruited Mary Ann Panetta, 40, of Schenectady, who helped take out the personal loans in late 2000 and 2001 by posing as the victim, Smith said.
Panetta is serving three years in state prison for a Westchester County robbery. She cooperated with federal authorities and got 12 months for the identity theft to run concurrently, Smith said.
Harrison also pleaded guilty in Albany County Court in December 2003 to planting dynamite in his former girlfriend's garage, Smith said. He had worked as a blaster at Vermont slate quarries and had access to dynamite, he said. That sentence runs concurrently with the Glenville robbery.
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