U.S. Secret Service Informant Also Identity Thief Who Stole $2 Million

It sounds like an action movie plot, but the real life story of Brett Shannon Johnson, as being reported by Wired.com (http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2007/06/secret_service) is an unbelievable story.   

For 10 months, Johnson was working undercover with the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) office in Columbia, South Carolina to help the Secret Service catch identity thieves.   While working with the Secret Service, Johnson let his greed get in the way and continued his illegal identity theft activities.  During this time Johnson committed id theft fraud totaling around $2 million dollars, most done under the radar of the Secret Service who were using him as a paid informant!   Once the Secret Service became aware of his crimes, Johnson decided to run away and disappear.  Not the smartest move he could make.

Last week a federal judge fined Johnson $300,000 and sentenced him to six (6) years in jail for his crimes.

Go ahead read the story on Wired.com (http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2007/06/secret_service) for more twists on this story!