Florida Man Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Passport Card Fraud, Bank Fraud, Identity Theft

Burlington, Vermont - The United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on November 1, 2024, defendant Scott Jamie Ashness, 44, most recently of Stuart, Florida, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss to a term of 48 months' imprisonment to be followed by a 3-year term of supervised release. Ashness previously pleaded guilty to bank fraud, passport fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

According to court records, in September and October of 2023, Ashness entered fifteen different bank branches in Vermont, New York, and New Hampshire and pretended to be a total of eight different individuals in order to withdraw U.S. currency from those individuals' accounts. On twelve of those fifteen occasions, Ashness was successful and walked out of the banks with the cash that he requested. In total, Ashness stole $80,150 from other individuals' bank accounts, and he attempted to steal another $22,800. In some instances, Ashness presented to bank employees falsified U.S. passport cards or state driver's licenses containing others' biographical information and Ashness's photograph.

U.S. Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest stated: "Fraud and identity theft are among the most serious crimes. They have the potential to cause significant financial harm to individual victims and also undermine the integrity and trust that institutions and individuals rely on every day in the United States. The United States Attorney's Office will continue to raise awareness about crimes like those committed by the defendant and will work with our federal partners to vigorously investigate and prosecute these types of offenses." U.S. Attorney Kerest commended the investigatory efforts of the Diplomatic Security Service's St. Albans Resident Office. He also thanked the Derry, New Hampshire Police Department, the Vermont State Police, the South Burlington Police Department, the Essex Police Department, the Winooski Police Department, the Burlington Police Department, the Newport Police Department, and the Barre Police Department for their assistance in the investigation.

Special Agent in Charge Matthew O'Brien of the U.S. State Department's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Boston Field Office said, "The Diplomatic Security Service is firmly committed to working with the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate allegations related to passports in identity theft crimes. And DSS's global network of special agents working together to interdict passport crimes is vital to bringing those who commit these crimes to justice."

The prosecutor was Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Cate. Ashness was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Steven Barth and Christopher Dall, Esq.