Webster Bank Identity Thief Sentenced

The California woman who stole the identity of a Webster Bank customer and used it to withdraw $13,500 from the account at the bank’s Barrington branch has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, according to United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha.

Nancy Sherman, 42, pled guilty in federal court in Providence last September to defrauding a Rhode Island bank of more than $13,000 by stealing the identity of a bank customer. She was sentenced last Friday by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith to serve 5 years of supervised release upon her release from prison and to pay restitution in the amount of $13,500.

Sherman also admitted to stealing the identity of a second person in an attempt to withdraw funds from a second account.

At the time of her guilty plea, Sherman admitted to the court that in early January 2011, she travelled to Rhode Island and made an unauthorized withdrawal of $13,500 from a Webster Bank branch office in Barrington from an account she did not have authority to access. She admitted that she provided the bank with a fraudulent Connecticut driver’s license, which contained her picture and the stolen personal information of the account holder.

Sherman also admitted to the court that one month later, in February 2011, having stolen the identity of a second bank customer, she attempted to withdraw funds from an account at a Pawtucket branch office of Webster Bank by providing the bank with a Connecticut driver’s license with her picture and the stolen personal information of the account holder.

The bank teller recognized Sherman from a photograph in a Webster Bank Fraud Alert Bulletin and notified Pawtucket Police, who took the defendant into custody at the bank. Sherman has been detained since her arrest.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard B. Myrus. The matter was investigated by the Pawtucket Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service.