A man who racked up nearly $33,000 on credit cards while using Will Smith’s identity can forget about any independence days for the next three years.
Carlos Lomax of Duquesne, who pleaded guilty in September to one count of using unauthorized credit cards, was sentenced Thursday to 37 months in federal prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Picking said Lomax, 42, opened 14 bogus credit accounts at Pittsburgh-area stores as Willard C. Smith, the full name of the actor-rapper who’s starred in movies including “Independence Day,” without Smith’s authorization.
All the accounts used Lomax’s home address, where authorities in January found sales receipts and other documents in Smith’s name, some with Lomax’s fingerprints on them. Investigators said they found that a computer at the home had been used to search the Internet for personal information on actors, sports figures and their families.
Senior U.S. District Judge Alan N. Bloch ordered Lomax to pay $64,076 in restitution as part of his sentence. That includes restitution to the companies that lost money, plus purchases Picking said Lomax made in the name of another public figure, whom she wouldn’t identify.
