Army Sergeant Named in Million-Dollar Identity Theft

TACOMA, Wash. – A staff sergeant at Fort Lewis and his wife were charged yesterday with using fake identities to obtain more than $1 million in loans and valuables, including a $510,000 home and a variety of goods financed through a false credit union membership. The alleged scheme was uncovered by America’s FCU at Fort Lewis where Sergeant Irvin McClendon and his wife, Sonia, opened an account last January using a fake social security number. The account was apparently used to buy paintings and other goods and pay off bad debts, then to gain credit at other institutions, according to an indictment handed up in federal court here yesterday. Prosecutors said when they searched the McClendon’s $510,000 home they found paintings, a large uncut diamond, 32 fur coats, a pile of high-end purses, and flat-screen televisions in almost every room. Sergeant McClendon earned $61,000 a year for the Army and his wife, a fugitive in other states, appeared to have no income.