Wisconsin Man Pleads Guilty to Identity Theft

St. Louis MO --- Christopher Crivolio, 47, of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, pled guilty today to one count of identity theft.  Crivolio appeared before United States District Judge John A. Ross.  Sentencing is scheduled for November 7, 2019.

In or about August of 2018, Christopher Crivolio, sent unauthorized emails purporting to be from an employee of Mantality Health in the Eastern District of Missouri.  Crivolio had previously been employed with and terminated from Mantality Health.  Without the authorization of his former employer, Mantality Health, Crivolio used the name of a current employee to send emails to numerous job applicants who had applied for positions at Mantality Health.  The emails purported to reject the applicants stating, “Thank you for your interest in careers at Mantality Health. Unfortunately we do not consider candidates that have suggestive “ghetto” names. We wish the best in your career search.”  Crivolio signed the emails in the name of a nurse practitioner who still worked at Mantality Health.

After the emails were sent, multiple news outlets reported on the story of the offensive rejection emails, and the employee and Mantality Health began to receive comments on social media and harassing telephone calls.  Personal information regarding the employee was posted on social media, which caused the employee to temporarily relocate.  At no point in time had the employee, or anyone at Mantality Health, authorized Crivolio to use the employee’s identity or to send the communications purporting to be on behalf of Mantality Health.

Crivolio faces up to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 along with a forfeiture allegation for identity theft.  In determining the actual sentence, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provides recommended sentencing ranges.

The case was investigated by the F.B.I. offices in St. Louis and Milwaukee with assistance from the Western District of Wisconsin.

“Identity theft not only affects individuals when their personal information is stolen,” said Special Agent in Charge Richard Quinn of the FBI St. Louis Division. “In this case, Chris Crivolio assumed the identity of a former co-worker to falsely represent the company in responding to job applicants with the intent to destroy the company’s reputation.”

AUSA Gwendolyn Carroll is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.