Two Individuals Charged with Identity Theft After Using Stolen Identities of Deceased and Elderly Victims to Purchase Vehicles, a House, and to Obtain a False Passport

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Lloyd Linwood Comer, age 59, of Brandywine, Maryland, and Doreen Gilmore, age 54, of Brandywine, Maryland for the federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, the substantive charge of bank fraud, false statement in a passport application, and aggravated identity theft. 

The indictment was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Chief of the Criminal Investigations Division of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Jessica Moore; and Special Agent in Charge Michael McGill of the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, Philadelphia Field Division.

According to the four-count indictment, from January 2019, from January 2021, Comer and Gilmore conspired with others to finance the purchase of vehicles by using the stolen identities of real persons, fraudulent checks, and misappropriated bank account numbers. Allegedly, in at least one occasion, the defendants did not make payments on fraudulently obtained loans and retained the vehicles for themselves.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that the defendants fraudulently obtained the vehicles by inserting false loan application information with misappropriated names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and fraudulent proof of identity submitted to lenders. Lenders then approved financing for vehicle loans based on the false applications.

The indictment continues to allege that Comer applied for a United States passport by falsely stating that he was Victim 1, a deceased man. In order to obtain the passport, Comer allegedly provided a fraudulently obtained identification card in Victim 1’s identity and provided Victim 1’s birth certificate as proof of identity, allegedly obtained by Gilmore. As alleged in the indictment, Comer contacted the Social Security Administration to report Victim 1’s death as erroneous and attributed the error to the fact that Victim 1’s name is the same name as Victim 1’s deceased father. Soon after obtaining the false documents, Comer allegedly traveled to Jamaica with Gilmore under Victim 1’s identity and passport. 

In addition, Comer and Gilmore allegedly submitted a mortgage application in the name of a 76-year-old woman for the purchase of a residence in Brandywine, Maryland in the amount of $541,500. As stated in the indictment, the application falsely represented the woman’s employment status as a full-time employee of two separate business entities. On the mortgage application, Comer and Gilmore allegedly listed their contact information under the woman’s contact information, submitted fraudulent financial documents, and falsely stated the woman’s income and finances. 

Further, Comer and Gilmore allegedly resided in the home instead of the 76-year-old woman and did not make any payments on the mortgage loan.

If convicted, Gilmore and Comer face a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud; a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for bank fraud; 10 years in federal prison for passport fraud; and two years in federal prison consecutive to any sentence imposed for aggravated identity theft. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the DSS and SSA OIG for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Lenzner thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Davio and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Maddox, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.  For more information on how to report fraud, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.

# # #