Former local business owner pleads guilty to ID theft scheme

A former Sparta resident and Ava business owner pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to being an accessory after the fact to aggravated identity theft after allowing customer information to be stolen and used in a scheme that cashed $159,842 in fraudulent checks.

James Guerin, 41, of Tulsa, Okla., and the owner of Rogersville Septic Services LLC, faces up to one year in federal prison without parole plus a maximum fine of $100,000, according to a news release from the office of Tammy Dickinson, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

Guerin discovered co-defendant Phillip Shockey, 50, of Crawford, Ark., used bank accounts and routing numbers from the plumbing business’ customers to produce fake checks and other financial documents in August and September 2013.

Shockey, who was released from federal custody in Arkansas on charges of wire fraud on July 31 that year, was living with Guerin by court mandate after Guerin paid Shockey’s $5,000 bond. According to the release, after learning of the illegal activity, Guerin provided comfort and assistance to Shockey and allowed the operation to continue.

Shockey and at least 12 co-conspirators passed around 51 fake checks between July 2013 and February 2014 and pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme earlier this year.

Fifteen federal and state entities in Missouri and Oklahoma participated in the investigation, according to the release.