PORTLAND, Maine — A former Richmond man was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for bank fraud during a hearing Wednesday before Chief Judge Nancy Torresen in U.S. District Court.
Howard Hoffman, 53, also was ordered to undergo five years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.
Hoffman pleaded guilty to the bank fraud charge on April 15.
Court records show that in March 2007, Hoffman’s childhood friend died while in Costa Rica. More than a year later, Hoffman used his deceased friend’s personal information to gain access to the friend’s bank account and change the address on the account to his residence in Richmond.
Over the next few weeks, Hoffman had two checks issued from his friend’s account, totaling about $80,000. He then deposited the checks into a bank account belonging to a company he controlled. Hoffman did not have authority to access the account or have the bank issue the two checks.
At the time of his conviction, Hoffman was living in Moorpark, California.
The investigation that led to Hoffman’s conviction was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service.