Woman cons airman twice, then steals his identity and buys car in his name, feds say
A woman stole the identity of a U.S. Air Force member in South Carolina by conning him into sharing his information — using it to buy a car and receive credit cards in his name, federal prosecutors said.
Ceara Smith, 25, of Newport News, pleaded guilty on July 23 to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said in a news release.
Her defense attorney didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on July 25.
Smith’s scheme began when she presented two opportunities to the airman while pretending to be different people in late 2022, according to court documents. He was stationed at Charleston Air Force Base at the time.
Both opportunities were ploys to learn his personal and banking information, prosecutors said.
When Smith first reached out to the airman, who is a musician, she told him she was a concert promoter named “Asia,” according to court documents.
She convinced him that he could perform at a concert as an opening act — if he paid a fee and shared his personal information first, a statement of facts says.
The man tried, but was unsuccessful, in paying the purported fee using an application, according to prosecutors, who said he then gave Smith his PayPal login information so she could make the payment for him.
“(He) was never hired to perform at a concert as promised,” prosecutors said.
In December 2022, Smith, while pretending to be a car rental company ambassador, reached out to the man and presented him with an ”opportunity to make money,” according to prosecutors.
She told him “that if he completed a training program with Turo,” the rental company, “they would both benefit financially” and offered to complete the training for him, prosecutors said.
The airman was under the impression that he could make between $10,000 and $20,000, according to prosecutors.
Smith persuaded him to create a Turo account, provide his debit card banking information, a photo of his license and the login information to his account, prosecutors said.
Afterward, he was never paid, according to prosecutors.
New car and shopping sprees
Smith used the airman’s Social Security number, driver’s license number and other personal information to secure a vehicle loan for $25,005, prosecutors said.
She impersonated him while contacting Langley Federal Credit Union, which approved her car loan application, and Your Kar Company, which received the loan — allowing her to buy a 2015 Dodge Charger, according to prosecutors.
Through Smith’s “deception and misrepresentations,” she was able to buy the car without proving her identity in person, prosecutors said.
After completing paperwork for the car, she dropped off the paperwork while pretending to be the airman’s sister, according to prosecutors.
That same month, in January 2023, Smith secured two credit cards and a debit card using the airman’s name, prosecutors said.
“Smith immediately took an $800 cash advance on one of the cards and then used another card to make several purchases,” according to prosecutors.
When another card was declined as she tried to make a purchase at Journeys, Smith caused Langley Federal Credit Union to issue her new cards, according to the statement of facts.
Then she went shopping with one of the cards at Manhattan Beauty Supply, Target, Charmed, 7-Eleven, made purchases at Waffle House, and used Lyft, Doordash and Uber, the statement of facts says.
Smith also took out two cash advances of $400 and $500, according to prosecutors, who said one credit card was ultimately flagged and blocked.
Car is repossessed
On Jan. 20, 2023, Langley Federal Credit Union contacted the airman, telling him they suspected someone stole his identity, according to prosecutors.
In June 2023, the car Smith bought was repossessed and law enforcement searched the vehicle, prosecutors said.
Authorities found a debit card with the airman’s name on it, receipts with purchases made on the card, and a FedEx package with the airman’s name, according to prosecutors.
Now Smith is facing up to 30 years in prison for bank fraud and a mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft, prosecutors said. Her sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 3.
This story was originally published July 25, 2024 at 1:35 PM with the headline "Woman cons airman twice, then steals his identity and buys car in his name, feds say."
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