GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge announced today that Jay David Soulliere, Jr., 28, of Grand Rapids, was sentenced to 51 months in prison by the Honorable Paul L. Maloney, United States District Judge. In October, Soulliere pled guilty to conspiracy to commit identity theft and aggravated identity theft. Soulliere was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following incarceration and ordered to pay more than $18,000 in restitution. In handing down the sentence, the Court found that Soulliere abused a position of trust and had not accepted responsibility, among other findings.
According to public records filed in the case, Soulliere was a Disaster Recovery Specialist for the Small Business Administration from September 2020 until March 2021. His job responsibilities included assisting people applying for disaster-related loans. In the fall of 2020, Soulliere stole from SBA’s computer system the personal information of two victims who had applied for loans. Soulliere gave that information to a co-conspirator, Matthew Moore Vodak, Jr., who used it to commit various acts of identity theft, including buying a Land Rover with a fraudulent check and driver’s license, taking over a credit card, applying for loans and credit, and producing fake identification documents. Soulliere also listed one of the victims as a member of his household in a bid to obtain state benefits. During the offense and the prosecution, Soulliere repeatedly used methamphetamine and he absconded from a halfway house. When he was arrested by federal agents, he had another person’s identification document in his possession and lied to agents about his identity.
Vodak was earlier sentenced to 39 months in prison, two years of supervised release, and more than $18,000 in restitution for his role in the scheme.
“Government employees are routinely entrusted with the public’s personal information, and they owe a duty of care to protect that information,” said U.S. Attorney Birge. “This defendant thought his government job gave him permission to steal the identities of people already suffering the economic consequences of a pandemic. We take insider threats seriously and will hold public servants accountable for abusing the public’s trust.”
“Criminals who use their position within the government for financial gain not only threaten the stability of government agencies but undermine our laws,” said Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca of the FBI in Michigan. “This case is another example of the FBI’s partnership with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to combat serious financial frauds. I would like to thank the Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General, Michigan State Police, and the Plymouth Township, Troy, and New York City Police Departments for their collaboration during this investigation.”
The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the SBA Office of Inspector General, the Troy Police Department, the Plymouth Township Police Department, the Michigan State Police, and the New York City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin M. Presant handled the prosecution.
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