4 charged with fraud, ID theft

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

A federal grand jury in Ohio has indicted four men on charges of using stolen identification and phony companies to defraud six states out of more than $361,000 in jobless benefits.

The 33-count indictment was announced Thursday against Darnell Nash, Kennard Berts and Justin Davis of Cleveland Heights and Dwayne Buchannan Jr. of Cleveland. They range in age from 20 to 29.

The charges include mail fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft.

Prosecutors say the four used stolen IDs and phony companies to swindle unemployment benefits in California, Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, Indiana and Kansas.

No phone listing could be found for the defendants and no attorneys were listed for them in court records.