Man of 19 Faces Could Get 30 Years in Prison

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (CN) - A Texan faces up to three decades in federal prison after admitting that he used 19 different identities to carry out a bank fraud scheme.

Curtis Sparks, 29, of Harlingen, pleaded guilty Thursday to defrauding USAA Federal Savings Bank in a scheme that went on for a year starting in March 2011, the Justice Department said.

"As part of the scheme, Sparks opened 24 checking and savings accounts using 19 different identities," prosecutors said in the statement. "He would then request credit card advances using stolen account information from other financial institutions to fund the checking and savings accounts he opened at USAA.

"In total, Sparks requested $187,541 in fraudulent cash advances from various financial institutions, including Bank of America, Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union, Capital One Bank, Citi Bank and Chase Bank."

After funding the USAA accounts with stolen credit card advances, Sparks would request debit cards for the accounts and have them mailed to various addresses in the Harlingen area, prosecutors said.

"He then used the debit cards to withdraw cash from the USAA checking and savings accounts," prosecutors said.

Sparks faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine at his Aug. 27 sentencing hearing.

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