A Detroit man used 7,000 stolen identities to collect and resell free government phones
Dewan Anton Williams, 47, of Detroit, bought Social Security numbers stolen from identity theft victims on the dark web and used them to submit nearly 3,000 fraudulent Medicaid applications to the State of Michigan, making those stolen identities appear eligible for free government cell phones under the Lifeline program's Safelink Wireless brand. After the phones arrived, Williams activated and resold them for personal profit. Investigators recovered about 150 new and pre-packaged Safelink Wireless phones from his home, along with personal information stolen from roughly 7,000 identity theft victims. The fraudulent applications cost the State of Michigan $11 million in unnecessary payments before the accounts were identified as fraudulent and shut down, allowing the state to recoup the money. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged Williams in October 2022 with Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, Identity Theft, Use of a Computer to Commit a Crime, and Welfare Fraud. He pleaded guilty to Conducting a Criminal Enterprise and Identity Theft, and on February 17, 2023 a Wayne County circuit judge sentenced him to 2 to 20 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections plus restitution.
- Year
- 2023
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Reported loss
- $11.0 million
- Victims
- 7,000
- Schemes
- Lifeline phone subsidy fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-11-03
The facts, as recorded
- Dewan Anton Williams, 47, of Detroit, purchased Social Security numbers stolen from identity theft victims on the dark web.
- He used the stolen identities to submit nearly 3,000 fraudulent Medicaid applications to the State of Michigan, which made those identities appear eligible for a free government cell phone under the Lifeline program's Safelink Wireless brand.
- After receiving the phones, Williams activated and resold them for personal profit rather than giving or using them himself.
- Investigators recovered approximately 150 new and pre-packaged Safelink Wireless phones from Williams's home, along with personal information stolen from roughly 7,000 identity theft victims.
- The fraudulent applications cost the State of Michigan $11 million in unnecessary payments; after the accounts were identified as fraudulent and shut down, the state was able to recoup the money.
- Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged Williams on October 6, 2022 with one count of Conducting a Criminal Enterprise (a 20-year felony), three counts of Identity Theft (5-year felonies), three counts of Use of a Computer to Commit a Crime (7-year felonies), and three counts of Welfare Fraud Over $500 (4-year felonies).
- Williams pleaded guilty to Conducting a Criminal Enterprise and Identity Theft. On February 17, 2023, Wayne County 3rd Circuit Court Judge Mariam Bazzi sentenced him to 2 to 20 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections and ordered restitution; he was required to turn himself in to custody by an adjourned date of June 29, 2023.
- Attorney General Nessel said: "It is imperative that individuals have their personal information protected and it is especially egregious when bad actors use that information to defraud government programs." Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General Alan Kimichik said the investigation "sends a clear message to those who intend to steal taxpayer-funded resources that they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Why this case matters
This is the clearest documented example of Lifeline fraud built entirely on identity theft rather than carrier paperwork. Williams never controlled a telecom company; he controlled stolen identities, and the program’s own eligibility logic, tied to Medicaid enrollment, did the rest of the work for him.
A state benefits system, not a federal one
Unlike the Q Link and Icon Telecom cases, this prosecution ran through Michigan’s state court system, led by the Attorney General’s office after a joint investigation with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General and Michigan State Police. The underlying free phones were still federal Lifeline benefits, distributed through the Safelink Wireless brand, but the charges were state identity theft and criminal enterprise statutes rather than federal fraud charges.
The resale step
Where corporate carriers profit from an inflated subscriber count on their own books, Williams profited by converting stolen identities directly into a physical, resellable asset: a free phone he could activate and sell, repeated nearly 3,000 times.
The caveat
Williams pleaded guilty and has been sentenced; this is a resolved criminal case, not an allegation. The $11 million figure, the count of roughly 7,000 identity theft victims, and the other specifics above come from the Michigan Attorney General’s own charging and sentencing announcements; this page does not independently verify the underlying Medicaid or Lifeline enrollment records.
Sources
- Michigan AG Dana Nessel Charges Detroit Man with Using Stolen Identities to Commit Medicaid Fraud. Michigan Department of Attorney General. Accessed 2026-11-03. Supports: Williams's age and location, the dark-web purchase of Social Security numbers, the nearly 3,000 fraudulent Medicaid applications, the free government cell phone connection, the roughly 150 Safelink Wireless phones and 7,000 victims' information recovered from his home, the $11 million cost to Michigan, his arraignment, and the specific charges and their felony classifications.
- Wayne County Man Sentenced for Conducting Criminal Enterprise. Michigan Department of Attorney General. Accessed 2026-11-03. Supports: Williams's guilty plea to Conducting a Criminal Enterprise and Identity Theft, the February 17, 2023 sentencing by Judge Mariam Bazzi to 2 to 20 years plus restitution, his activation and resale of the phones for profit, the June 29, 2023 custody date, and the Nessel and Kimichik quotes.