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A former Springfield police officer was convicted by a federal jury of using his ex-wife’s identity to defraud a credit card company and PayPal, U.S. Attorney John F. Wood announced today in a news release.

The former officer, Charles Edward Johnson, 45, of Springfield, was found guilty of mail fraud and credit card fraud.

From November 2003 to Aug. 31, 2005, Johnson used the personal information of his ex-wife to open three separate credit accounts with Capital One and an account with PayPal. Johnson used all four fraudulent accounts to obtain goods and services through online purchases shipped to his home in Springfield, and obtained cash advances at various locations. Capital One sent bills in the name of Johnson’s ex-wife to Johnson’s home address in Springfield, and to keep the accounts open, Johnson made minimum payments on all three credit card accounts using money orders.

Johnson obtained several thousand dollars in goods and services using the fraudulent credit cards and PayPal account, and ultimately did not repay the debts, the news release said.

A jury deliberated about an hour before finding Johnson guilty on three counts of mail fraud, and of credit card fraud. The trial took place in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Richard E. Dorr, beginning Sept. 2.

Under federal statutes, Johnson is subject to a sentence of up to 70 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $1 million and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich prosecuted the case, the news release said.

Source : http://www.news-leader.com/