Mansura Man Charged with 165 Counts of Identity Theft

On March 1, 2019, the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office received a complaint of identity theft from avictim who discovered that multiple bank accounts and credit cards had been opened in their namewithout their knowledge or authorization.

During the ensuing investigation, Roman Simmons, 33 years ofage, of 151 Schexnyder Road, Mansura, LA, was identified as a suspect. Sheriff’s Office investigatorsdeveloped probable cause to obtain an arrest warrant for Simmons for one count of Identity Theft, andalso obtained a search warrant for his residence.

While searching Simmons’ residence, investigatorsfound evidence identifying 37 additional victims and 164 additional acts of identity theft, including creditapplications, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, mailing addresses, account statements,insurance policy information, and 57 credit cards in other people’s names.

Simmons was taken intocustody and booked into the Avoyelles Parish Detention Center on a total of 165 counts of Identity Theft.Simmons is currently being held with a bond of $1,010,000.00. The investigation is ongoing, and morecharges are possible. Sheriff Doug Anderson advises that people should monitor their credit reports for any unusual activity oraccounts, check their checking and credit accounts for any unauthorized transactions, and be aware ofany missing postal mail that may contain personal identifying information.

Sheriff Anderson advises thatif a person believes they are a victim of identity theft they should file a fraud alert with any of the threemajor credit reporting bureaus (Experian, Equifax, or Transunion). More information about filing afraud alert can be found www.consumer.ftc.gov. Victims of identity theft should also contact theAvoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office or their local law enforcement agency to file a complaint