A Michigan man has been convicted of using fake charitable organizations in an Alaska fraud and identity theft case.
On Monday, 46-year-old Alan Michael Bartlett, of Owosso, Mich., was convicted of two counts of mail fraud, 20 counts of bank fraud, five counts of wire fraud, five counts of false statements to the U.S. Postal Service and five counts of aggravated identity theft, according to a statement from the Alaska U.S. District Attorney’s office.
Bartlett reportedly established two businesses — United States Disabled Veterans, LLC, and United States Handicapped-Disadvantaged Services, LLC – whose missions were allegedly “to help provide real jobs for disabled and disadvantaged Americans,” according to the DA. Instead, Bartlett used them to obtain donations to benefit himself between July 2011 and January 2012.
He also used information found on checks sent in for donations to gain access to more money from donors’ accounts and submitted forged power of attorney forms with falsified notary seals to banks and other financial institutions to “legitimize” transactions that had been reversed due to the potential for fraud, according to the DA.
Bartlett also used personal identifying information from donors to submit change of address requests to USPS so donors’ financial mail would be sent to his home address.
The money he gained through these tactics was used to invest in his E*TRADE accounts and pay for credit cards, phone service and a student loan, the DA says.
According to the DA, Bartlett even pretended to be a municipal law enforcement detective in order to dissuade one victim from “reporting or providing additional information” about his schemes to real law enforcement.
Bartlett faces a potential of 30 years in prison for the crimes of fraud and false statement, plus a fine of $250,000. Each aggravated identity theft charge requires a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence for each conviction, plus a fine of $250,000. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 19.
