SACRAMENTO—A Sacramento woman has been sentenced in federal court to three years in prison for identity theft and defrauding a bail bond company after pleading guilty.
On Wednesday, October 22, U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller ordered Jennifer Ann Lynch, 37, to pay full restitution to her victims. Lynch was sentenced for two counts of mail fraud related to a scheme to obtain bail, and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Court documents show that Lynch was arrested in Lincoln, California on May 3, 2013 for unrelated California state offenses. She was charged then with identity theft, burglary, possession of stolen property, and giving false information to police. She was later released on a $175,000 bond that she obtained through fraud. Authorities said Lynch defrauded a bail bond company by falsely representing her assets, ability to pay and her income so she could secure the bond. She also obtained and altered stolen money orders to pay for the bond.
On March 17, 2013, while Lynch was out of custody, she had taken checks that were stolen from the mail and opened a Safe Credit Union account using the identity of the mail-theft victim, including the victim’s name, date of birth, driver’s license number, employer identification and security badge, Social Security number and signature.
Authorities said that between then and July 31, 2013, she deposited additional stolen and altered checks, and then withdrew cash. Lynch had been arrested in August of 2012 as well, on charges of petty theft, posession of burglary tools, stolen property, and driving on a suspended license.
The case resulted from an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Placer County District Attorney’s Office, with assistance from the Roseville Police Department and the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force.
