Identity theft lands cop in confinement

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An airman was discharged from the Air Force, given 14 months confinement and reduced to airman basic after being convicted of several identity-fraud-related crimes during a recent general court-martial here.

Senior Airman David A. Daniel, from the 377th Security Forces Squadron, was charged with larceny, forgery and intercepting mail from another airman. Charges were based on incidents dating back to September 2001, according to Capt. Tiffany Dawson, from the staff judge advocate office here.

Daniel obtained the driver's license and government travel card of a fellow security forces airman who was deployed in the aftermath of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, Dawson said.

With another security forces airman’s help, Daniel obtained a post office mailbox to receive and intercept mail from his victim, Dawson said. The other airman was discharged for unrelated issues before the investigation. Daniel also used this mailbox to obtain a credit card and convenience checks in the victim's name.

Daniel's purchases included a $2,600 DVD player for his vehicle and a $3,300 diamond engagement ring for his fiancée, according to Dawson.

Daniel pleaded guilty to 10 charges and elected to be tried and sentenced by a military judge alone. Dawson said that during his guilty plea, Daniel admitted to stealing various luxury items from local merchants and placing the financial responsibility on a fellow cop while that airman was deployed overseas.

The prosecution recommended a bad conduct discharge, 30 months confinement and reduction to the lowest enlisted rank, Dawson said. However, during sentencing arguments, defense lawyers asked the military judge to forego a long sentence because of the lengthy elapsed time period and because restitution has since been made to the victims.

The military judge sentenced Daniel to a bad conduct discharge, 25 months confinement and reduction to airman basic, Dawson said. But under the pretrial agreement for Daniel to plead guilty in front of a military judge alone, the general court-martial convening authority agreed to limit Daniel's confinement to 14 months.

"This was a classic case of violation of the sacred trust that one military member puts in other comrades in arms," said Capt. Mark Trujillo, trial counsel in the case. "Our security forces members put their safety on the line every day and should not have to worry about being financially assaulted by one of their own while they are deployed overseas defending our freedom.

"The sentence in this case demonstrates that there is no room in the Air Force for those who lack the fundamental values of honesty, trustworthiness and integrity," he said. (Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)