New Englander charged with ID fraud in Oconee

Oconee Sheriff’s Office announces the arrest of a man charged with financial identity fraud.  It’s a case that the sheriff’s office says involved an attempt to buy a Lake Keowee Dodge Challenger.  The man arrested was identified as Bernard Alan Harris of Bridgeport, Connecticut.  Harris was jailed late last night in Walhalla.  A deputy obtained a Louisiana identification for the suspect, but was unable to verify it.  The affidavit to the arrest warrant reads:  “The defendant did, on or about 6-29-20, unlawfully commit the offense of identity fraud by devising a scheme or artifice to defraud Lake Keowee Dodge of a 2020 Dodge Challenger, valued at $89,895.12 by providing a Louisiana driver’s license under the name of Richard Sherman and having completed the sales transaction under this falsified identification….” The sheriff’s office quotes a dealership employee as saying Harris failed to answer security questions related to the purchase.