Overview
- Jerome Antwan Andrews, 41, of Southfield, pleaded guilty to possessing the personal data of more than 250 people and to running equipment used to make counterfeit Social Security cards and driver’s licenses.
- Prosecutors link his conduct to more than $550,000 in losses tied to fraudulent claims on pandemic benefit programs.
- In his plea, Andrews admitted keeping an embosser, laminator, card cutter, and ID card printer to create and sell documents in the names of real people.
- The Labor Department’s inspector general alleged the theft reached more than $1.5 million with associates involved, a broader claim than the losses quantified in the plea.
- Sentencing is pending, and prosecutors say he faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 or twice the illicit gains after a probe by Homeland Security Investigations and the Labor Department’s watchdog.