BETHLEHEM, Penn.–A man who posed as a woman in an attempt to pull off a loan scam has pleaded guilty.
Tommie A. Hensley appeared in court where he appeared so sick he had to be placed in a wheelchair. He was still able to enter the guilty plea and tell the court he was “terribly sorry.”
Earlier this year Hensley dressed as a woman and went to went to Heights St. Joseph FCU where he took out a $49,318 car loan under the name of Pamela Friesen, whose identity was stolen, police said. Five days later, the cashier's check was cashed in New York.
According to authorities, the fraud was one of several that Hensley and a co-defendant, Mario Mondesir, allegedly pulled off at banks in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Mondesir also pleaded guilty in a different court to a charge of forgery. Authorities said police characterized Mondesir as the "brains of the operation," saying that he would obtain fake identifications, drive Hensley to banks, and wait in the car as the other man took out the loans.
In an interview with investigators, Hensley said he received $800 from Mondesir in the Bethlehem Township case. Usually, Hensley told police, he got a greater cut and would receive 10% of the proceeds.
Hensley, 44, will serve nine to 23 months in Northampton County Prison on charges of forgery and identity theft, and will owe more than $49,000 in restitution.