Mr. Smith goes to prison for identity theft

A man with a very common name has been sentenced to prison for identity-theft. A former federal drug informant from eastern Iowa has been sentenced to six years in prison on charges he stole 90-thousand dollars using the credit of men with similar names. Stephen -E- Smith of Iowa City was also ordered by a judge to pay more than 95-thousand dollars restitution. Investigators say Stephen -C- Smith of Anamosa went to Best Buy in April 2000 and applied for credit, but found someone had already opened an account in his name and rang up dozens of charges. Authorities say Stephen -E- Smith also stole the identities of two other Stephen Smiths in Wisconsin and Florida, applying for more than 20 different cards. Investigators say he used the credit cards to buy goods he traded for drugs.