PRESS RELEASE

ALBANY, NY – Glenn T. Suddaby, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, John F. Pikus, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Albany Division, and Steven Heider, Chief of the Town of Colonie Police Department, announced today that NELSON SLAUGHTER, 43 of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced before the Hon. Gary L. Sharpe, in United States District Court in Albany, NY, on five felony counts. The convictions related to an identity theft scheme perpetrated by SLAUGHTER and others from the Philadelphia area that has victimized elderly women through the United States, including several from the upstate-NY region. Defendant was sentenced for one count of mail fraud, one count of identification document fraud, one count of mailing a threatening communication, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

Judge Sharpe sentenced SLAUGHTER to concurrent terms of imprisonment of 51months for the mail and identification document fraud counts and for the charge of mailing a threatening communication. A term of 24 months was imposed for each of the aggravated identity theft charges, to be served concurrently to each other, but consecutive to the other counts. Accordingly, SLAUGHTER’s overall sentence was 75 months imprisonment. The Court further ordered restitution to the victims of the identity theft crimes, as well as forfeiture of property obtained during the identity theft scheme.

On October 12, 2006, SLAUGHTER pled guilty to his participation in a so-called “flip, bite, and write” identity theft scheme perpetrated by a Philadephia-based ring. SLAUGHTER acted as a team leader in the ring which targeted elderly women shopping in grocery stores. Teams led by SLAUGHTER traveled to locations where grocery stores were located in close proximity to stores where electronics could be purchased, such as Best Buy, Circuit City, or Sears. Typically, a member of SLAUGHTER’s team distracted an elderly female victim in the grocery store (“the flip”), while SLAUGHTER stole the woman’s credit cards (“the bite”). SLAUGHTER then went to his vehicle nearby and, using a laptop and ID printer, made a false identification document (ID) in the victim’s name with a picture of one of the ring members traveling with him. The false identification documents SLAUGHTER created included state driver licenses and United States Armed Forces identification cards. The ring targeted elderly women because they were more easily distracted and presented less of a physical threat due to their advanced age.

Using the stolen credit cards and fake ID, SLAUGHTER and his team members then purchased expensive electronics, miscellaneous merchandise, and gift cards, signing the victim’s name to the credit card receipts (“the write”). SLAUGHTER sold some of the electronics to a third party, who in turn sold them on the internet, while other proceeds were divided among the team members. SLAUGHTER admitted that he carried out his identity theft scheme in the capital district region during a three-day period in January 2005, victimizing two elderly women (79 and 83 years old, respectively) and numerous retail stores, in Albany, NY. SLAUGHTER’s team then moved on to Kingston, NY, where SLAUGHTER was apprehended by a security officer who spotted him stealing the wallet of a 77-year-old woman in a grocery store.

On September 6, 2007, JOHN WINDLE, another team leader in the identity theft ring, pled guilty before Judge Sharpe to felony offenses related to his participation in the scheme, including acts in July 2006 which victimized elderly women and retail stores in Latham, Brunswick, Clifton Park, and Wilton, NY. WINDLE has not yet been sentenced. ANN M. GRICE, a third member of the ring who was indicted with WINDLE by a federal grand jury in this District, remains at large.¹ SLAUGHTER and WINDLE operated the scheme, which they developed with others, starting in at least 2001, and committed acts throughout the United States, including New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, and North Carolina.

SLAUGHTER’s conviction for mailing a threatening communication stems from conduct he committed while incarcerated and pending sentencing in the identity theft case. SLAUGHTER mailed a letter from the Washington County Jail, in Fort Edward, NY, to a former paramour living in Philadelphia, PA, that threatened imminent physical harm to the woman. He pled guilty to that charge on February 12, 2008.

The criminal investigation was conducted by the FBI, the Town of Colonie Police Department, the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tina Sciocchetti of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.

¹ An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent of the charges until proven guilty.