CHAPMANVILLE, WV (LOOTPRESS) – An investigation into a case of stolen identity has resulted in charges against a man in the Logan County area.
Corporal Derrick Miller with the Logan County Sheriff’s Department reports that, on Wednesday, December 28th, 2022, Michael Pridemore called the department with a complaint that he had received an AEP bill in the amount of $3,103.95 and that there was “no way his power bill should be that high.”
Mr. Pridemore advised that he had spoken with AEP, who stated that the balance was a transfer balance from another utility pole used at 5000 Garretts Fork Road. Mr. Pridemore stated that he did not have another residence and had not allowed anyone else to set up power in his name.
Believing him to have been the victim of identity theft, Corporal Miller advised Pridemore to contact the credit bureau. Mr. Pridemore did state that he had contacted social security, as he and his wife Margaret Pridemore are on a fixed income.
When Corporal Miller visited the Pridemores at 2555 Garretts Fork Road to discuss the matter further he was shown a cut-off notice from AEP for a back balance transfer of $2,923.92 issued to Michael D. Pridemore. Pridemore advised that he has lived at his current residence since September of 1982.
While investigating the matter, Corporal Miller was unable to locate a valid address of 5000 Garretts Fork Road, as the last residence to be found was 4591 Garretts Fork Road. Contacting AEP customer service regarding the account, Corporal Miller advised a case had been open regarding the bill and an extension on the cut-off was requested.
AEP advised that the 5000 Garretts Fork Road address was for a power pole meter #532524320 in their system, and that the original bill for collection was sent to 4591 Garretts Fork Road.
The address was determined to be valid, and came back to one Charles Adkins. AEP also advised that the date of activation of power for Michael Pridemore’s AEP account was September of 1982, and that no issues had occurred with the account up until this time.
Corporal Miller then revisited the residence of the Pridemores and asked if anyone had access to his personal information. Mr. Pridemore advised that the only person he could come up with was Charles Adkins, a man who had done computer repairs for Mr. Pridemore.
This gave Corporal Miller reason to believe that Adkins would have been able to obtain the personal information of the Pridemores, including social security number and billing account numbers, during his time and interactions at their residence. Corporal Miller reports that he then also had reason to believe that Adkins had used power under Michael Pridemore’s identity in the amount of $2,93.92 from June 8th, 2022 to late September, 2022.
AEP customer service advised that, even over the course of several months, this was an excessive amount of power usage. Corporal Miller located 5000 Garretts Fork Road on December 30th, 2022, and made contact with the occupant of the residence who turned out to be none other than Charles Adkins.
Corporal Miller questioned Adkins about his relationship with the Pridemores and the power usage in their name at the residence. At this point, Adkins provided a full confession to the identity theft of the Pridemores. He stated that he used the information to open an AEP account which he used “to mine bitcoin and trade power usage for graphics cards for his computer system.”
Charles Adkins was arrested by Sgt. N.M. Booth on a warrant obtained by Cpl. D.J. Miller for Identity Theft and Obtaining Goods and Services Under False Pretense.
Additional LOOTPRESS crime coverage can be found here, while additional LOOTPRESS coverage for the Logan County area can be found here.
Man steals senior’s identity, runs up $3000 AEP bill to mine bitcoin
