John A. Ross on Monday sentenced a man involved in identity theft, check fraud, and pandemic-related fraud schemes to 42 months in prison and ordered restitution totaling $77,360.
Darryon M. Sutherlin, 29, committed a series of financial offenses over more than three years, including filing a bogus application for COVID-19 relief payments, conducting check fraud, and using stolen identities to get loans and lines of credit. Court documents show that his unlawful behavior persisted even after he was formally charged.
On May 26, 2022, Sutherlin used a New Jersey resident’s stolen identity to get a $25,850 loan for the purchase of a 2016 BMW. He allegedly applied for a $8,500 personal loan and two credit cards using the victim’s identity, Social Security number, and a forged identification card, according to authorities.
On December 7, 2022, Sutherlin deposited two stolen and altered United States Treasury checks totaling $10,436 into his personal bank account.
Investigators discovered additional evidence on Jan. 31, 2023, when Sutherlin’s property manager contacted the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department after discovering pounds of marijuana and multiple driver’s licenses bearing different names but displaying Sutherlin’s photograph inside his St. Louis apartment. Sutherlin was found in possession of stolen personal and US Treasury checks, illegal bank cards, and counterfeit driver’s licenses, one of which belonged to the New Jersey victim.
A check of the flat uncovered further items, including bank cards, bogus identification documents, bank data, and a huge garbage bag containing stolen and opened US mail. Officers seized roughly 23 illegal debit and credit cards, 13 counterfeit driver’s licenses, and two false Social Security cards, totaling over ten identity theft victims.
Sutherlin also applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan on March 23, 2021, by fraudulently claiming to own a construction company and submitting a forged Form 1040 Schedule C that showed nonexistent income. After receiving $20,833 in PPP funds, he withdrew a large sum of cash and spent the remainder on personal costs.
Sutherlin maintained his fraudulent activities after being indicted in federal court in St. Louis on May 15, 2024. Prosecutors said he got a $8,500 loan from a Collinsville credit union branch using the identity of a Massachusetts citizen whose information appeared on one of the false driver’s licenses discovered during the 2023 probe.
Sutherlin’s release was withdrawn when the new charge was discovered, and he has remained in detention ever since.
Sutherlin pleaded guilty to two charges of identity theft in September at the United States District Court in St. Louis.
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