Montgomery woman sentenced to federal prison for fraud and identity theft

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – A Montgomery woman has been sentenced to federal prison for fraudulently adding her name to credit card accounts and stealing a deceased man’s identity to buy a car.

Heaven Noretta Robinson, 32, was sentenced Wednesday to 57 months in prison, Acting U.S. Attorney Kevin Davidson and U.S. Postal Inspector Scott Fix said.

Authorities say court records show Robinson accessed other people’s bank and credit card accounts without their knowledge or consent from February 2022 through October of that year. She then added herself to the accounts and had the corresponding credit cards emailed to her.

Robinson admitted during her plea hearing that she would use the cards to make purchases at various stores.

She also admitted that in September 2022, she used the personal identification information of someone she claimed was her uncle as a co-signer on a loan at a Montgomery car dealership, officials said.

The loan was approved, but the identifying information did not belong to her uncle. It was that of a deceased man who never had any contact with Robinson, nor did his family or anyone else give her permission to use his identity.

Robinson pleaded guilty on July 3, 2024, to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft.

A federal judge ordered Robinson to pay $33,550.93 in restitution to her victims, in addition to her prison sentence. She was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Montgomery Police Department, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Feil prosecuted the case.

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