Church Pastor is ID Thief

This small piece of news just goes to show you that identity theft can come from anyone, anywhere.

The former pastor of a Grace Fellowship Church in Pennsylvania, Rev. Raymond Clayton, was charged with bank and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft back in October. Last week, Clayton pleaded guilty in federal court to a count of access device fraud.

Clayton has admitted to using parishioners’ personal information to apply for credit cards. He would then use those credit cards to obtain cash advances and make purchases. In a six month period, Clayton defrauded parishioners of $30,000. He had changed the church’s mailing address to a post office box to cover his scheme.

Since the incident came to light, the 25-year old church community has disbanded. Sadly, this shows just how much of an impact fraud and identity theft can have on not just individuals, but also on communities.

hat tip to schneier, via pennlive Tags: identity theft, id theft, fraud, credit card fraud, pastor