A longtime assistant U.S. attorney who led fraud prosecutions in the Southern District of West Virginia has been charged with five counts of identity theft.
Monica Dillon is accused of using the personal identification data of five separate victims for unlawful activities to obtain items of value. An information filed in federal court on April 22 does not identify the victims.
The stolen identities were used to open and operate online gambling accounts and conduct financial transactions in the victims’ names, according to an agreed statement of facts filed in federal court.
An initial appearance and plea hearing has been set for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Charleston.
Court documents indicate Dillon intends to plead guilty.
However, the documents additionally show that Dillon agreed to a specific pretrial diversion program that allows for the dismissal of her criminal charges if she successfully completes a period of court-ordered supervision.
The pretrial diversion program is part of a broader Department of Justice initiative designed to divert certain offenders from traditional processing to ensure accountability while conserving judicial resources and promoting rehabilitation.
The federal Justice Manual grants the U.S. Attorney broad discretion to identify individuals for diversion.
The information laying out the allegations and the plea and pretrial diversion agreement were signed by Sally Sullivan, a special assistant United States attorney who typically works out of Charlottesville, Va.
Kenneth Bell, a federal judge usually in the Western District of North Carolina has been assigned to oversee the case. Albert Diaz, the chief judge for the fourth circuit, wrote that “in my judgment the public interest so requires” designating Bell to oversee the case involving the former federal prosecutor from West Virginia.
Dillon was a top white collar prosecutor for two decades in southern West Virginia. Her online professional profile says from 2021 to 2024 she led a team of eight attorneys in the investigation and prosecution of all the white-collar fraud, health care fraud, environmental, tax, and civil rights prosecutions.
That overlaps with the time period, 2021 to 2023, when Dillon is accused in five separate instances of taking “a name, social security number, and date of birth, knowing that the means of identification belonged to another actual person” with the intent to commit unlawful activity.
The pre-trial diversion for Dillon would mean she must successfully complete a two-year period of supervision by the U.S. Probation Office for the Southern District of West Virginia
A key condition of her diversion is that she must pay $30,000 in restitution to Victim 1, starting the payment during the 24-month supervisory period and until the full amount is repaid.
She also must comply with additional requirements such as not committing any other crimes, not obstructing justice and not making false statements.
If she complies with all of the terms and successfully completes the 24-month period, federal prosecutors have agreed to move for the dismissal of all five counts of identity theft.
But if she fails to comply with the agreement, prosecutors retain the right to pursue sentencing for the charges to which she is entering a guilty plea — or to reinstate any charges that might have been dismissed.
Normally, three of the counts are punishable by imprisonment of up to 15 years, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years supervised release. Two others are punishable by imprisonment up to five years, a fine of up to $250,000 and supervised release of three years.