NEW BERN, N.. (AP) — A former phone company employee has been convicted of using stolen personal information to sell expensive phones on the black market, government prosecutors say.
Alejandro Garlynn Williams, 40, was found guilty on Friday of 21 counts of conspiracy, fraud of access devices and aggravated impersonation after a trial in New Bern, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Raleigh in a press release. Sentencing will come later.
Citing court records and trial evidence, prosecutors said Williams began working at an AT&T store in Fayetteville in 2016, with responsibility for activating customer accounts and selling cellphones for those accounts.
Williams and a co-conspirator – who pleaded guilty in the case in June – hatched a scheme by which his cohort passed personal information such as Social Security numbers and birth dates to Williams, according to the government.
The co-conspirator, identified as Hamlet’s Anthony Jamison, would then send “rookies” to the store who acted as customers in front of the cameras, so that Williams could open accounts without suspicion. The information would be used to activate services and issue cellphones that were passed on to Jamieson for sale, according to the release.
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The statement did not describe possible penalties for Williams. His court-appointed attorney did not immediately respond to an email sent Saturday seeking comment on the trial and sentencing.
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