Identity thief pleads guilty to stealing $1.15 million

A Russian citizen accused of identity theft admitted in a U.S. federal court today to stealing $1.15 million from bank ATMs in Anderson and throughout California, Oregon and Washington. Edward Anatolyevich Kholstinin, 36, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of interstate transportation of stolen property, structuring of monetary transactions as well as fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents, according to a statement e-mailed Friday, Sept. 9, from U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton, District of Oregon.

Kholstinin initially filed a false application with the Department of Homeland Security in San Francisco in 2006 using the "Eduard Belozor" alias. In late May of 2007, Kolstinin "took stolen bank funds from Anderson, Calif., to Oregon where he used phony driver's licenses, which he created, to wire transfer at least $124,000 to various individuals in Russia," according to Holton's statement.

The businesses defrauded in Anderson and the amount stolen in Anderson were not specifically identified in Holton's statement.

While not all of the $124,000 was necessarily taken from Anderson accounts, Kholstinin made at least 47 fraudulent wire transfers as he traveled from Anderson to Portland in May 2007, according to the complaint against him, filed in May 2008 with the U.S. District Court, District of Oregon. Kholstinin made the wire transfers at various grocery stores, pharmacies and retail stores in relatively small amounts to avoid triggering the filing of suspicious activity reports with the IRS, Holton's statement continued.

"This scheme resulted in a loss of over $463,000 to Wells Fargo Bank and over $687,000 to Citibank," Holton writes.

Victims included account holders with Wells Fargo Bank, Citibank, Bank of America and Washington Mutual, according to the complaint, forwarded to the Valley Post by Daniel Wardlaw, special agent and public information officer for the Internal Revenue Service's Seattle branch office.

"Interstate transportation of stolen property and fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents both carry a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine," according to Holton's statement. "Structuring of monetary transactions as part of a pattern of illegal activity involving more than $100,000 in a 12-month period carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $500,000 fine."

Kholstinin is scheduled for sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown on Nov. 29, 2010.