A Bakersfield man has formally admitted his wrongdoing in a scheme of identity theft that enabled him to fraudulently purchase a car and meddle with the U.S. mail system. Kyle Matthew Lisman, aged 29, entered a guilty plea to charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and possession of stolen mail, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Eric Grant. The case sheds light on the increasing problem of identity theft in our digital age.
Lisman, who was found to have also submitted false address change forms causing unsuspecting individuals' mail to be rerouted to his home, utilized a victim's personal information to make a bogus $40,000 payment on a car. According to court documents, he didn't just stop at to daringly present a fake driver’s license at a Bakersfield dealership; he also transferred a substantial amount of cash and purchases through illicit means. "In July 2023, he used the name, social security number, and other personal information of another person to fraudulently buy a car at a Bakersfield car dealership," as recalled by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The investigation was masterfully conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, uncovering Lisman's illicit activities which spanned the first half of 2023. It was revealed that along with high-value transactions, he managed to open and use various credit and debit cards under the names of his victims, funding numerous transactions without their consent. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cody S. Chapple is leading the prosecution in this case against Lisman.
Lisman, now awaiting his fate, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 20. He is staring down a mandatory two-year incarceration and possibly up to two decades behind bars, with a fine that could inflate to $250,000. However, the "actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables," according to the announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
