LawFuel.com – 20 August, 2009 – Jacksonville, FL – United States Attorney A. Brian Albritton announces that Clinton
Edward Bell (age 51, of Nassau County) today pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft.
Bell faces a mandatory minimum of two years in federal prison.
According to court documents, from 1982 – 1984, Bell was convicted in the state of Louisiana of armed robbery, unarmed robbery, kidnaping, and multiple counts of escape.
He was sentenced 99 years in prison. After serving approximately twenty-four years in prison, Bell was placed on parole. He then relocated to Florida and was placed under the supervision of the Florida Parole Commission.
On January 28, 2009, Bell entered the Division of Driver License Office located at 7439 Wilson Boulevard, Jacksonville and presented a social security card and Florida birth certificate in the name of his brother, Larry Edward Bell. Clinton Bell used these documents to obtain a duplicate Florida driver’s license in the name of Larry Bell. Larry
Bell is as a registered sex offender in the state of Florida; thus, the issuance of the duplicate license in his name triggered an investigation by law enforcement. After comparing the picture on the duplicate license to known pictures of Clinton Bell, law enforcement determined that Clinton Bell had fraudulently obtained the license.
On April 2, 2009, a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper pulled Clinton Bell’s vehicle over and requested identification from Clinton Bell. Clinton Bell responded by handing the Trooper the Larry Bell license. Clinton Bell was subsequently arrested. During the booking process, Clinton Bell’s wallet was inventoried and a social security card in the name of
Larry Edward Bell with the issuance date of “3/17/2009” was located. This triggered a separate investigation into the fraudulent issuance of the Larry Bell social security card. The Social Security Administration (“SSA”), Office of Inspector General determined that on March 17, 2009, Clinton Bell had entered the SSA Jacksonville North Office located in
Jacksonville, Florida, where he presented the fraudulently obtained license in the name of Larry Bell and obtained a duplicate social security card in the name of Larry Bell.
This case was investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol, Bureau of Investigations and the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.
