NORFOLK, Va. — A former sailor who posed as a Navy SEAL chief to gain the trust of sailors and convince them to give him their personal information was sentenced this afternoon to seven years in prison for using the information to obtain $182,000 of fraudulent car loans from Navy FCU.
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Lionel Haynes, 31, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Norfolk to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Haynes admitted that he posed as either a Navy SEAL, as a SEAL chief or as a chief petty officer to gain the trust of young sailors. He obtained their personal information and obtained the loans from the credit union either over the phone or the internet in the sailors' names.
Authorities said there were about 30 victims.
