WEST PALM BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — A Palm Beach County man has been charged with more than 20 counts of fraud and related offenses for allegedly impersonating Palm Beach County residents. While BocaNewsNow.com traditionally focuses on Boca Raton and South Palm Beach County, this story from State Attorney Michael McAuliffe deserves attention.
Here are the charges filed against George H. Whitaker (05/09/1948) for the following criminal offenses:
1) Aggravated White Collar Crime 775.0844 5 (1 F)
– Maximum Allowable Sentence: 30 Years Prison
2) Fraudulent Use Of Personal Identification Information 817.568 2c (1 F)
– Maximum Allowable Sentence: 30 Years Prison
3 – 23) Uttering A Forgery 831.02 (3 F)
– Maximum Allowable Sentence: 5 Years Prison per Count
According the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office, the probable cause affidavit states and alleges that beginning in 2005, George Henry Whitaker obtained the personal identification information of 20 individuals under the pretext of having them apply for jobs. Between December of 2008 and March of 2010, the defendant, with the information from the employment applications, presented affidavits and applied for birth certificates at the Department of Vital Statistics in Palm Beach County. Those birth certificates were then used to fraudulently obtain Georgia drivers licenses.
The case is assigned to Assistant State Attorney Angela Miller of the White Collar Crime Section. The lead investigator is Agent Thomas Bacon of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
