PENSACOLA, Fla. — A jury convicted former Pensacola contractor Jesse LaCoste on Thursday of racketeering and organized fraud over $50,000.
The jury deliberated for approximately one hour.
LaCoste will be sentenced on Monday for the first-degree felonies. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in state prison.
LaCoste is already serving 10 years in state prison after being convicted last year of contractor fraud and theft.
Court records show LaCoste is still facing trial in Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties in cases that accuse him of failing to complete work after his clients had paid.
Identity theft is the “foundational” fraud upon which many other crimes are built. It involves the unauthorized acquisition and use of a person’s personal identifying information (PII), such as an ID number, Social Security number, or passport details.
- How it works: Fraudsters obtain PII through data breaches, mail theft, or “social engineering” (tricking people into revealing details). Once they have this data, they can open new bank accounts, apply for credit cards or loans, and even receive medical treatment under your name.
- Synthetic Identity Fraud: A sophisticated variation where criminals combine real and fabricated information to create a completely new, “synthetic” person. This is particularly difficult to detect because there is no single victim to report the suspicious activity initially.