GA Woman Pleads Guilty To Identity Theft In FL: U.S. DOJ

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — A Georgia woman pleaded guilty to an aggravated identity theft charge related to a Florida investigation, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

Corette Bates, 31, of Atlanta faces a mandatory two years in federal prison as part of her plea deal. A sentencing date hasn’t been set.

Bates, the prime suspect in a bank fraud scheme, was arrested in Atlanta in April, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release at the time.

• Also Read: Woman Arrested In Bank Fraud Scheme: Hillsborough County Sheriff

Bates opened an account at a credit union using a counterfeit driver’s license with her photo and the victim's identifying information, the DOJ said.

The credit union, identified as Suncoast Credit Union by the sheriff’s office, approved the application and issued a credit card in the victim’s name to Bates with a $20,000 credit limit, according to the DOJ.

Between May 9 and July 7, 2023, Bates, posing as the victim, completed 22 cash withdrawals using an interactive teller machine from those checking and savings accounts at the credit union totaling $75,700, the agency said.

A joint U.S. Secret Service and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office investigation revealed that there were numerous accounts in different names that the same individual depicted in the driver license had opened during the same time.

They contacted the victim and confirmed that she had not contacted the credit union or opened any accounts there.

Bates defrauded the credit union of more than $165,000.