Federal Prison Sentence Given To Clearwater Man For Bank Fraud

TAMPA, FL — U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Christopher Alholm, 39, of Clearwater to five years and six months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

As part of his sentence, the court also ordered him to forfeit $5,000, his portion of proceeds he received for his part in the crime. Alholm pleaded guilty on Aug. 4.

According to court documents, in March 2019, Alholm conspired with others to defraud a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-insured bank with branches throughout Tampa Bay.

The bank was a member institution of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta. Alholm obtained a bank customer’s stolen home equity line of credit account number and personal information, including the customer's name, signature, date of birth and Social Security number from a co-conspirator, according to court documents.

Alholm then used the stolen information to impersonate the customer at a branch of the bank in Spring Hill, obtaining $495,000 in home equity credit. After Alholm completed the fraudulent advance of funds, another co-conspirator wired the stolen funds to an offshore bank account, according to the courts.