ST. ALBANS –– A federal grand jury indicted Jonathan Whalley, 50, of St. Albans, Vermont, on charges of aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, mail fraud, and bank fraud on March 14.
Whalley pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on March 20 and was ordered to be detained pending trial.
According to court records, Whalley allegedly used a Burlington resident’s stolen identity documents to purchase six vehicles in Georgia, finance and insure them, obtain Vermont vehicle registrations, open a bank account, and create a Gmail account to facilitate the fraud scheme in April and May 2022.
If convicted, Whalley faces a mandatory 2-year prison term for aggravated identity theft, up to 20 years for wire and mail fraud, and up to 30 years for bank fraud.
The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles’ Enforcement and Safety Division and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
