Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Man who stole elderly relative’s identity gets 3 years in prison

A felon on probation stole his elderly mother-in-law's identity and racked up $28,000 in debt on credit cards he opened in her name before she died of cancer, according to the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Dennis William Moncrief, 55, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count each of aggravated identify theft and failure to surrender for service of sentence, officials said.

He was sentenced this week to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and ordered to pay back $28,034.83, officials said.

In 2017, Moncrief violated his probation after he was convicted of being a felon in possession of a gun and was ordered to turn himself in to custody to serve 13 months behind bars, officials said.

But in October 2017, before his surrender date, which he skipped, he victimized the 79-year-old woman by obtaining her name, date of birth and Social Security number to obtain four credit cards in her name, officials said.

In a letter to the judge before his sentencing, he said his mother-in-law forgave him before she died just prior to Christmas 2018.

The United States Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.