United States v. Lumbard

Nathan Lumbard (defendant) was arrested by Michigan authorities, charged with multiple crimes, and released on bail. He decided to flee the United States to avoid jail. Justin Cheesebrew agreed to provide Lumbard with his name, his social-security number, and other identifying information in exchange for $500. Lumbard took Cheesebrew’s information and requested a passport, driver’s license, and birth certificate. The passport included Cheesebrew’s name but Lumbard’s picture. Lumbard then staged his own death by placing a suicide note and suitcase near a river and leaving a voicemail for police suggesting where they could look for his body. Lumbard then booked a flight out of the country and evaded capture abroad until the United States Department of State located him. He was arrested and returned to the United States. Lumbard confessed his scheme with Cheesebrew and was indicted for criminalized identity theft under 18 U.S.C. § 1028A, among other crimes. He pled guilty but reserved the right to appeal the district court’s denial of his motion to dismiss the identity-theft charge. Lumbard was sentenced to 48 months in prison. He appealed the denial of his motion to dismiss, arguing that 18 U.S.C. § 1028A, which prohibited the use of another person’s identification without lawful authority, excluded cases like his, because he had Cheesebrew’s permission to use his identifying information.