By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com
A Dixon man has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank fraud and identity theft.
U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. sentenced Jonah Hanneke Nelson, 31, to four years and 10 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Nelson pleaded guilty to the charges in November.
Nelson was arrested in April 2009 after passing counterfeit checks drawn on victims' bank accounts, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release. Nelson was found with extensive lists of victims' names and bank account numbers as well as falsified identification documents.
He was taken into federal custody after being indicted on multiple counts of bank fraud, access device fraud, counterfeiting and aggravated identity theft.
In court papers filed by the government, victims described sleepless nights, destroyed credit, missed mortgage payments and nervous breakdowns as a result of Nelson's conduct.
In imposing the sentence, Judge England noted that this was a sophisticated offense that victimized 97 individuals and five banks throughout Northern California, and resulted in a loss of $87,957 over a four-month period.
The case resulted from a joint investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Solano County Sheriff's Department.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.
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