Gregory A. White, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today that a federal grand jury in Cleveland, Ohio, returned a six count indictment charging Edward E. White, age 25, of Cleveland, Ohio, with Fraud in Connection with Access Devices.

The Indictment charges that between October 2005, and September 2007, White used the names and taxpayer ID numbers of at least six Cleveland area businesses to fraudulently open over 53 business cellular wireless accounts with approximately 377 cellular telephone lines through Alltel Wireless, Sprint / Nextel and Verizon Wireless. The indictment charges that as a result of White’s activity, Alltel, Sprint/Nextel and Verizon suffered aggregate losses in the approximate amount of $235,180.09.

If convicted, the defendant's sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant's prior criminal record, if any, the defendant's role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Kern of the Cleveland U.S. Attorney’s Office, following an investigation by the Cleveland Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cleveland, Richmond Heights and Strongsville Police Departments.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.