Columbus Man Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Misusing Social Security Numbers to Get Apartments, Vehicles, Credit Cards

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Ohio:

COLUMBUS, Ohio – DeWayne Foster, 39, of Columbus, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 36 months in prison for using false identifying information and Social Security Numbers on six occasions over the course of six months.

According to court documents, in 2018 and 2019, Foster used the alias “Thomas Walker” along with false Social Security Numbers to apply to rent apartments, purchase vehicles and obtain credit cards and personal loans.

In September 2018, Foster used a false SSN to rent a two-bedroom townhome in Sunbury, Ohio, for $1,570 per month.

On five other occasions, Foster used the Social Security Number of a minor born in 2007. Within one week in January 2019, Foster illegally used the SSN to obtain a vehicle loan for nearly $26,000, to sign a lease for an apartment in Powell, Ohio, for approximately $25,000, and to apply for a second, $41,000 auto loan.

In February 2019, Foster used the false information to obtain a personal credit card with a $2,000 limit. Finally, in March 2019, the defendant applied for a $15,000 loan.

Foster is currently serving an eight-year sentence in Union County for local narcotics crimes and will serve 12 months of his federal sentence after he is released from local custody. He is also ordered to pay more than $16,000 in restitution to the victims he defrauded in his federal case.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the sentence imposed by Senior U.S. District Court Judge James L. Graham and commended the investigation by the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General and Columbus Division of Police. Special Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Landry is representing the United States in this case.