New Jersey Man Drains Cash From Bank Accounts Across Florida Used Stolen Identities and Forged Passports: DOJ

A New Jersey man has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison after using forged U.S. passport cards to withdraw money from victims’ bank accounts in Florida and South Carolina.

Michael Scott Hillwig, 59, of Camden, New Jersey, was sentenced April 7th in the Northern District of Florida for bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and false use or forgery of a passport, says the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In May 2023, he unlawfully obtained victims’ names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and passport card numbers, then created fraudulent U.S. passport cards with his photograph and the victims’ identifying information.

He traveled to financial institutions in South Carolina and Florida locations including Bonifay, Niceville and Winter Garden, presenting victims’ Social Security numbers and the fake passport cards to make withdrawals.

Says U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin,

“It is of vital importance to raise awareness about the vulnerability of our personal identifying information online, which fraudsters relentlessly pursue as they seek to enrich themselves by exploiting their victims. As this defendant has learned, my office is just as relentless in our pursuit of criminals like him, and we aggressively prosecute such frauds to the fullest extent to achieve justice for the victims of these crimes.”

Hillwig will serve more than two years in prison followed by three years of supervised release and must pay restitution to victims.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and Holmes County Sheriff’s Office.

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