A 27-year-old Texas man used a Wyoming woman’s Social Security number, birthdate and home address to secure an apartment for himself, then he drove her credit score into the basement by not paying rent, court documents allege.
Ravaughn D. Hobbs, of Forth Worth, Texas, now faces up to 10 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines, on one count of identity theft charged in Sheridan, Wyoming.
The case rose to the felony-level Sheridan County District Court on Monday, about two weeks after Sheridan County Sheriff Levi Dominguez announced that his office had Hobbs in custody.
Why Did My Credit Score Tank?
The woman contacted Sheridan Police Department Cpl. Chase Philipp the afternoon of Feb. 20, to report her identity had been stolen, according to an evidentiary affidavit filed in the case.
Lifelock, an identity protection site, contacted the woman and told her that her credit score had fallen by more than 100 points and that her personal information had been used to rent an apartment in Forth Worth, Texas, the document says.
Her plunging credit score stemmed from the renter’s failure to pay about $3,226 owed to the landlord, the woman told Philipp.
The affidavit says she reached out to the apartment system and learned that man named Ravaughn Hobbs had used her name, date of birth, Social Security number and current Sheridan address to rent the apartment in August 2023.
She didn’t know anyone in Texas and didn’t know how anyone could have gotten her information, she said.
Philipp ran Hobbs’ phone number (which he filed with the apartment system alongside the Sheridan woman’s personal information) through an online investigation site to find his known associates and his pawn store activity.
The address for one of his known associates, a woman, was the same as the rented apartment, says the affidavit.
Philipp tried contacting Hobbs via the phone number and email address he left with the apartment system, but never heard back, the document says.
Hobbs’ pawn activity showed multiple transactions at Cash American Pawn of DFS – which is the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, reportedly. The investigator also found photos of Hobbs – one showing him in an orange reflective vest, like an airport worker would wear, says the affidavit.
I Remember A Man
The apartment manager told Philipp that a man who possibly had a woman with him rented the apartment Aug. 14, 2023. He was evicted by Sept. 2, 2023, for not paying rent, the document relates.
The woman confirmed that the man used the Sheridan woman’s personal information to rent the apartment, the affidavit says.
Philipp asked for a warrant to look for and detain Hobbs. The sheriff’s office took custody of him last month, and he appeared for a preliminary hearing Monday in Sheridan Circuit Court.
His bond is set at $10,000 cash or surety.
Citing statewide policy against public defenders speaking to the press, the Sheridan County public defender’s office declined Wednesday to comment.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
