Armstead

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

From 2001 to 2004, Armstead led a conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Armstead recruited conspirators and paid them fifty dollars or gave them drugs in exchange for “packets” of stolen personal information. Each packet contained an indi- vidual’s social security number, a bank account number or numbers, a credit card number or numbers, and blank checks. Armstead and his co-conspirators stole these packets from individuals, their homes, and vehicles.

Armstead gave the personal identification information to certain co-conspirators and directed them to create fake Washington State Driver Licenses (“WSDLs”). Each fake WSDL contained stolen personal information juxtaposed with a photograph of one of the conspirators. At Armstead’s direc- tion, his co-conspirators deposited stolen checks into bank accounts and withdrew funds from those accounts using the 1 Armstead’s challenge to his conviction was addressed and his convic- tion affirmed in a memorandum disposition, filed on October 15, 2008. See United States v. Armstead, 2008 WL 4613637. UNITED STATES v. ARMSTEAD 16785 fake WSDLs. Conspirators also used the fake WSDLs to take out…