Brandon Lee Richards, 36, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced on May 5 to serve 60 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to making a false statement to a bank and falsely representing a Social Security number, according to U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
Richards’ case highlights the continued focus on prosecuting financial crimes involving identity theft. The prosecution stems from an incident on September 19, 2024, when Richards used another person’s identity and Social Security number to purchase a vehicle from an Oklahoma City dealership. He completed the credit application using the victim’s information despite having prior convictions for financial fraud.
A federal grand jury indicted Richards on March 4, 2025. He pleaded guilty on October 30, admitting he had impersonated another individual during the transaction. At his sentencing hearing held April 28 before U.S. District Judge Charles Goodwin, Richards received five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Goodwin said that Richards’ previous financial fraud convictions and the seriousness of this offense influenced the sentence.
Public records show that Richards has prior felony convictions for counterfeiting securities in federal court (case CF-16-188), uttering forged instruments (Cleveland County District Court case CF-2008-1278), attempting to obtain property under false pretenses (Oklahoma County District Court case CF-2010-6286), and second-degree forgery (Oklahoma County District Court cases CF-2013-2233 and CF-2013-2122).
The investigation was conducted by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Krista Hodges-Eckhoff.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced it had created the National Fraud Enforcement Division focused on investigating and prosecuting fraud against Americans as part of President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance.
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma enforces federal laws across its jurisdiction—which covers forty counties—and works with community safety initiatives within the Department of Justice according to its official website.
