GREENWOOD, Ind. – The United States Department of Justice Southern District of Indiana Attorney’s office has sentenced James Henley, 35, of Greenwood, to ten years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, two counts of money laundering, and eight counts of wire fraud. Henley has also been ordered to pay $1,887,426.63 in restitution.
According to court documents for over three years, Henley orchestrated multiple large and complex fraud schemes, resulting in a total loss of $2,927,758.95 to individual homeowners, an Indiana attorney, a bank, and ten state governments. As part of his fraud schemes, Henley registered five fake businesses (OnTrack Real Estate Solutions, LDI Investments Corp, Lucario Investments, 317 Traffic, and Henley Real Estate Solutions) with the states of Indiana and Kentucky, claiming to serve as the Chief Executive Officer for most of them. None of the businesses were legitimate. Instead, Henley used the businesses to mask his identity, make his schemes appear more credible, and launder the stolen money.
Henley’s schemes are broken down as follows:
COVID-19 Fraud:
Between May 2020 and March 2021, James Henley and two associates used the stolen personally identifiable information of 76 real individuals to submit 120 unemployment insurance applications to ten states during the COVID-19 pandemic. Once the applications were approved, the trio used 65 unemployment insurance debit cards to make purchases at retailers and withdraw cash at ATMs in the Evansville and Indianapolis areas. The states paid $1,119,426.63 in unemployment benefits in connection to the group’s fraudulent applications.
Home Title Fraud:
Between December 2021 and May 2023, Henley stole five homes in Indianapolis by filing fraudulent deeds with the Marion County Recorder’s Office, pocketing more than $260,000 in profits. Henley also attempted to steal and sell 14 other homes in Indianapolis and Evansville.
Mortgage Fraud:
In November 2021, an associate of Henley’s purchased a home in Indianapolis using a mortgage loan from a bank. In April 2022, Henley filed a fraudulent document with the Marion County Recorder’s Office to make it seem like the mortgage loan had been paid. It had not. Henley then filed a deed naming himself a joint owner and sold the property for $255,000, keeping all the proceeds.
Auto Loan Fraud:
In the spring of 2023, Henley purchased two trucks for $71,479 and $54,270. In October 2023, Henley connected a JPMorgan Chase bank account to his auto loans, via Everwise’s online payment portal. Henley falsely represented that the Chase account belonged to an associate and that he had the authority to make payments on his loans using funds from the Chase account.
Henley has prior felony convictions for financial crimes, including theft, forgery, and fraud.
“James Henley went to great lengths to coordinate exceptionally greedy, complex schemes that exploited hard-working families and state government programs,” said John E. Childress, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Undeterred by prior felony convictions for the same conduct, this defendant stole over a million dollars, wreaking financial and logistical havoc on hundreds of victims.