A Buffalo man is facing seven years in prison following his indictment in an identity theft case involving an out-of-state married couple.
David Gray, Jr., 42, of Buffalo, was arraigned on Friday morning before State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller on an indictment charging him with two counts of third-degree grand larceny and two counts of first-degree identity theft (Class “D” felonies).
Gray was the subject of fraud investigation and investigators said that between March 1, 2024, and March 19, 2024, he used the personal identifying information belonging to a married couple to initiate nine unauthorized withdrawals from their business and personal checking accounts. Gray is accused of depositing a total of $45,000 in stolen money into his personal checking account at a local bank. The two out-of-state victims have since been reimbursed by their bank.
Gray is scheduled to return on May 22 for a pre-trial conference. He was held without bail.
If convicted of the highest charge, Gray faces a maximum sentence of 7 years in prison.
Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane commended Detective Daniel Brinkerhoff of the Erie County Sherrif’s Office and the financial institution’s fraud investigator for their work in this investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Christopher P. Jurusik of the Special Investigations and Prosecutions Bureau.