A New York man has been sentenced in federal court in Pennsylvania to 38 months in prison on his conviction for the use of unauthorized access devices and aggravated identity theft.
Erick Cottrell, 54, of White Plains, New York, will also serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, in August 2022, Cottrell used a counterfeit Pennsylvania Driver’s License in the name of a victim to make withdrawals of approximately $23,000 from the victim’s bank account.
In September 2022, Cottrell was arrested by the Baltimore City Police in connection with another attempt to use the same counterfeit driver’s license to steal money from the victim’s bank account.
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According to the Department of Justice, in April 2023, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police detectives tracked Cottrell and others to a hotel on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, where they had fraudulently rented three rooms, including one by Cottrell in the name of the same victim.
Further investigation by the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and the United States Secret Service revealed that Cottrell used that victim’s and other victims’ personal identification information at various places to rent hotel rooms and make fraudulent purchases in the Pittsburgh area.
United States Attorney Olshan commended the United States Secret Service, Baltimore City Police, and Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Cottrell.
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