Hawkeye Reporter

A former resident of Cedar Rapids has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for identity theft. Shango Johnson, aged 35 and from Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced on June 27, 2025, following a guilty plea on March 24, 2025, to one count of aggravated identity theft.

Johnson admitted in a plea agreement that he obtained a fraudulent check in November 2023. The check amounted to $9,634 and was falsely drawn on a Chicago law firm's account. This account had been closed in 2021 after the firm's mail was stolen. Johnson deposited this fraudulent check into his bank account in Cedar Rapids. The check misleadingly indicated it was for Johnson's "personal injury final settlement payout." However, Johnson had not received any such settlement and was not entitled to the funds from the law firm's account. He attempted to use the funds before his bank could detect the fraud.