Columbus man sent to prison after stealing identities to purchase motorcycles, Corvette, Apple watch

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A Columbus man will serve 2½ years in prison after a sentencing hearing in federal court where he faced charges of fraud related to stealing identities.

In February, Siyuan Ye, 24, pleaded guilty to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, crimes that resulted in over $100,000 in fraudulent lines of credit.

According to federal prosecutors, Ye stole the identities of at least 15 people between January 2022 and August 2023, when he repeatedly obtained Ohio and Florida driver licenses without their authorization. Ye then used the licenses to fraudulently obtain credit from retailers in the victim’s names.

Among the purchases were three motorcycles, a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and a variety of electronics. Those electronics included laptops, graphics cards and an Apple watch during an April 2023 shopping spree worth over $8,400 at the Micro Center in Columbus.

Later that month Ye used the name of a victim from Westerville to purchase a Suzuki motorcycle at Iron Pony Motorsports. He also used an identity to rent an apartment and obtain renter’s insurance.

In addition to his sentence, Ye was ordered to pay more than $78,000 in restitution. As part of his guilty plea in February he agreed to pay more than $115,000 in restitution.

Ye, who does not have legal status in the United States, entered the country in 2017 on a student visa to attend Ohio State University.