Abigail Payton, a 30-year-old from Kentucky, was sentenced on April 20 to three years and six months in federal prison for aggravated identity theft and bank fraud. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe after Payton pleaded guilty on November 13, 2025.
According to court documents, Payton obtained personal information—including Social Security numbers—of at least four victims. She used fraudulent driver licenses with her photo but the victims’ details to open checking accounts at credit unions in Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale.
Payton applied for loans using two of the victims’ names and spent over $38,000 from those proceeds. She also wrote checks to herself from accounts opened under other victims’ names and caused an additional $35,000 loss by opening more accounts at different banks under separate identities.
In May 2024, law enforcement stopped Payton in Kentucky where officers found blank checks issued in other people’s names as well as a cellphone containing photos of fake driver licenses with her image but others’ personal information.
The United States Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Kelli Swaney prosecuted it.
