Ohio woman pleads guilty to 70 charges

BAY MINETTE, Ala. (WALA) - Baldwin County officials said an Ohio woman pleaded guilty on Thursday to a string of 70 felonies including identity theft, forgery and fraud.

Officials said Rhonda Janelle Frazier, 43, befriended a South Baldwin couple when she was living in Orange Beach and offered to file a claim for them at the BP claims center following the oil spill.

She obtained the woman’s Social Security number and other information and within a month opened a number of credit card accounts and a cell phone account in the victim’s name, according to a press release from Baldwin County officials.

In all, Frazier was charged with 56 counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, 12 counts of second-degree forgery, one count of identity theft, and one count of second-degree theft, the latter charge stemming from a case with a separate victim.

“The victims already were in a fragile position as a result of the BP oil spill’s effect on the local economy,” District Attorney Hallie Dixon said. “They trusted her, and she took advantage of that trust. She is a predator.”

Frazier entered a blind plea of guilty to the charges, meaning that no prior plea agreement had been reached with the prosecution. Assistant District Attorney Chandra Paul asked for Frazier to be sentenced as a habitual offender, which calls for sentences ranging from 15 years to life in each felony, because Frazier has five prior felony convictions in Ohio for similar offenses.

However, Circuit Judge James Reid handed down a sentence of 10 years for each felony category split to time served of 19 months, and five years of probation, cautioning Frazier that if she violated strict probation orders she would return to prison for the full 40-year sentence.

“To protect yourself from identity theft, it is important to always keep your Social Security number and personal information confidential,” Dixon added. “Don’t share it with anyone unless you are certain that the person you are communicating with is whom they claim to be.”

The District Attorney’s Office recommends that all citizens check their credit reports periodically to ensure they list only legitimate accounts. You can receive a free copy of your credit report from each credit bureau every 12 months, available by calling 1-877-322-8228 or at www.annualcreditreport.com .