Oklahoma City Woman Receives a Year in Prison for Use of Credit Profile Numbers

OKLAHOMA CITY – TIMATRESS TENAKA CADE, 31, of Oklahoma City, has been sentenced to twelve months in prison for using credit profile numbers, or CPNs, to falsely report her Social Security Number in credit applications, announced Robert J. Troester, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

According to charges filed in November 2017, Cade used CPNs, also known as "credit privacy numbers" or "credit protection numbers," instead of her own Social Security Number when she applied for financing at retailers and financial institutions.  CPNs are usually stolen Social Security Numbers, often belonging to children, which are marketed to individuals with poor credit history as a way to get a clean credit profile.  By using CPNs instead of her own Social Security Number on credit applications, Cade deceived retailers, credit card companies, banks, and a home leasing company into believing she had a better credit history than she had actually earned.  She purchased a vehicle, household furnishings, televisions, computers, and other goods, and leased a home, and then made little to no payments on the credit accounts, which caused financial losses to her creditors.

On January 5, 2018, Cade pleaded guilty to false representation of a Social Security Number after she used a CPN instead of her own Social Security Number when she leased a home in Edmond, Oklahoma, from OKC Homes 4 You.  Today U.S. District Judge David L. Russell sentenced her to twelve months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  She must also pay $68,637.74 in restitution to OKC Homes 4 You and the other creditors she defrauded.  The government agreed to dismiss other charges against her.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.  It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Perry.

Reference is made to public filings for further information.