A 'credit repair' front that built fake credit files instead
Michael Griffin ran a purported credit repair business out of Raleigh and Knightdale, North Carolina, that in reality created fictitious credit profiles for clients using stolen and synthetic Social Security numbers, then defrauded Synchrony Bank, Capital One and Discover by opening and maxing out credit accounts in those fabricated identities. He was sentenced in December 2021 to 100 months in federal prison.
- Year
- 2021
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Reported loss
- $412,885
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- Synthetic identity fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-09-13
The facts, as recorded
- Griffin operated from a business location in Raleigh and his home in Knightdale, North Carolina, accepting fees from clients for alleged credit repair services.
- He was accused of creating fictitious credit profiles and fraudulently altering client credit data through the use of fictitious police reports.
- Various codefendants, many of them Griffin's own family members — including his sister, daughter, brother and wife — conspired with him to defraud Synchrony Bank (a Lowe's credit card provider), Capital One and Discover by opening credit accounts under fraudulent identities, cashing them out through prepaid card purchases, then defaulting.
- Griffin pleaded guilty on 24 August 2021 to one count of bank fraud tied to a Synchrony Bank account opened in the name 'Michael Jones,' created with a stolen Social Security number and used between February and November 2018.
- At sentencing, Griffin was held accountable under federal sentencing guidelines for intended losses and fraudulent gains of more than $3.4 million, though he pleaded guilty to only one count.
- US District Court sentenced Griffin to 100 months in prison, five years of supervised release, and ordered $412,885.17 in restitution for identifiable losses.
- US Attorney Michael F. Easley, Jr. said: "If someone offers to get you an alternate social security number, credit profile number, ('CPN') so that you can open credit lines or obtain loans – they are inviting you to participate in a crime. Don't do it. It could land you in federal prison."
- The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the US Marshals Service and US Postal Inspection Service.
Why this case matters
This is one of the clearest documented examples of the “fraud for credit repair” category the GAO’s 2017 synthetic identity fraud forum specifically identified: a business marketed as legitimate credit repair that was, according to the indictment, actually manufacturing fake identities and fake credit histories for paying clients — collecting a fee for the crime itself rather than for any real service.
The credit profile number pitch
Griffin’s business accepted fees from clients for “credit repair,” but the indictment alleged what clients actually received were fictitious credit profiles built on stolen Social Security numbers, sometimes reinforced with fraudulent police reports. US Attorney Michael F. Easley Jr.’s statement singled out the “credit profile number” or CPN pitch specifically — the same product the GAO’s 2017 forum found being marketed online, falsely, as a legal substitute for a real SSN.
A family enterprise
Ten of Griffin’s codefendants, sentenced earlier in 2021, included his sister, daughter, brother, wife and at least one client and one business associate — illustrating how a synthetic identity operation recruits people already close to the operator to open accounts and receive fraudulently obtained goods, rather than needing outside accomplices.
The gap between intended and actual loss
Griffin was held accountable at sentencing for “intended losses and fraudulent gains of more than $3.4 million” under federal sentencing guidelines, even though restitution — the amount tied to identifiable, provable losses — was set at $412,885.17. That gap is typical of bust-out schemes: the credit limits extended and drawn against can exceed what any single victim institution can later document as an actual, recoverable loss.
The caveat
Griffin pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and aiding and abetting; the $3.4 million figure reflects a sentencing guidelines calculation of intended and related fraudulent conduct, not a separate criminal conviction for that full amount. The facts above describe a concluded prosecution in which Griffin has already been convicted and sentenced.
Sources
- Leader in synthetic identity fraud ring sentenced to prison for bank fraud. US Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Accessed 2026-09-13. Supports: All key facts: the credit-repair front, the fictitious police reports, the named banks defrauded, the family codefendants, the guilty plea details, the intended-loss figure, the sentence, the restitution amount, and the US Attorney's quote.