Newsday: ‘One Tree Hill’ actor admits role in ID scam
Actor Antwon Tanner, a regular on the popular teen drama “One Tree Hill,” faces up to 10 years in jail after pleading guilty in Brooklyn federal court today to illegally selling Social Security numbers for $10,000.
Tanner, 35, of California, was charged in April after he sold 16 numbers and three fake cards to undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers running a sting operation in Brooklyn.
He told U.S. District Judge Carol Amon that he was a middleman, selling numbers that he had been provided by an unnamed third party, and that he knew it was illegal because the numbers would be used to fraudulently acquire goods.
Tanner, prosecutors revealed, is also under investigation in California, but they refused to identify the subject of that probe. Today’s plea does not cover that investigation.
Tanner’s acting credits have included a high-profile role in “Coach Carter,” starring Samuel L. Jackson, and cameos on TV shows ranging from “NYPD Blue” to “CSI” and “Boston Public.”
Although the maximum for selling Social Security numbers is 10 years in jail and a $250,000 fine, his likely sentence under federal sentencing guidelines would be between 6 and 12 months, according to prosecutors. They said there was no evidence that the numbers were actually used to defraud anyone.
Tanner and his lawyer, Gregory Watts, had no comment on his motive for committing the crime despite a successful career, but said they would have more to say at his sentencing on Nov. 20.
via ‘One Tree Hill’ actor admits role in ID scam.
16 Responses to “Newsday: ‘One Tree Hill’ actor admits role in ID scam”
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August 21st, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Say goodbye to Skillz. What a stupid thing to do on his part. I don’t feel bad at all. I have been a victim of theft identity and had my SS stolen. It was a nightmare. I hope he gets maximum he is no better than a thief who breaks into your home.
August 21st, 2009 at 1:15 pm
i think he should be off the show. come on, he broke the law, and this wasnt a little crime that he did. he deserves to be in jail. i usually dont agree with weenie, but this time i do. identity theft is not a walk in the park, he brought a lot of pain to innocent people.
so please cw get rid of the actor.
August 21st, 2009 at 1:25 pm
so he is getting sentenced on nov 20. odds are he will be going to jail, which he deserves to. i have lost all respect for antwon. he broke the law, and did a horrible thing. so yeah i agree they should just get rid of him now, and not wait till november.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Taking a poll: Should Antwon be fired? http://teendramawhore.com/2009/08/21/breaking-news-antwon-tanner-pleads-guilty-to-fraud/
August 21st, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Who cares all many celeb do stupid shit. And to be honest it isn’t ant of my business. I don’t watch celebs for their personal lives. It isn’t like he’s going o jail for long a most he’ll service is like 2-3 months and off for probation.
August 21st, 2009 at 6:44 pm
I feel soo bad for skills, i know that sounds silly but now antwon’s character is gonna get screwed over! And the show is gonna suffer a little bit more because of another actor having to leave the show. He deserves to do the time in jail. But im going to be very sad to see skills leave tree hill!
August 21st, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Brightlight: What do you mean who cares? Stealing SS can unlock peoples identity and you can get access to bank accounts, atm machines, credit cards. It is a big deal. Your SS number is given to you once in your life, when you lose it buying things like a house or your credit becomes very difficult because they have to put a check on you. It is a real pain and he deserves full punishment and to get fired. He is a criminal and a thief.
August 21st, 2009 at 7:21 pm
It’s who cares because it isn’t any of my business what celebs do in their personal lives. I really don’t give a crap what the do as long as they are entertain. I don’t care.
August 21st, 2009 at 7:44 pm
birghtlight as someone who has had their identity stolen your attitude is really piss-poor. its not a small crime what he did. he destroyed the lives of many people, and getting your identity back is like pulling teeth.
yeah he should be fired, and he needs to rot in jail. what a jerk.
August 21st, 2009 at 8:31 pm
No my attitude isn’t piss-poor I have my opinion just like you have yours. If I don’t give a crap, I don’t give crap. You’re not going to change my opinion. Like I said celebs can do whatever the hell they want because frankly it isn’t my business because I wasn’t involved or done wrong. Either way it’s there’s and my prerogative to stay out of it.
August 21st, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Well it seems there was no evidence that the numbers were actually used to defraud anyone.
I guess he was just the third party in the situation. Because he knew of it being illegal.
August 21st, 2009 at 9:25 pm
yeah, i say fire him. he broke the law, so yeah he should go to jail.
brightlight, so you dont care what anybody does as long as it doesnt bother you? if everyone had that attitude then the world would be filled with murderers, rapist, federal criminals. reminds me of that poem about the how the person said the nazis came for all these types of people, and i didn’t do anything. but when they came for me, know one was left to help.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:44 pm
I say he should be punished for what he did, and if they want to fire him as part of that punishment, more power to them, they wouldn’t be wrong. He broke the law and gets what he deserves. But c’mon…am I the only one who will miss Skillz if he is fired?
August 21st, 2009 at 11:03 pm
i would miss skills, esp. his friendship with jamie. but he did break the law, and should be punished. so if they fire him, then so be it.
they could recast skills, i know that it would be different, but its not the shows fault antwon broke the law.
August 22nd, 2009 at 7:40 am
Again, we’re talking personal lives here, but, he probably needs to change the company he keeps and sit back and look at the successes he has that many haven’t. Maybe it will sink in. People can learn from mistakes and change for the better. Maybe this is that chance for him and it’s severe enough that it may finally hit home. Antwon is a great part of OTH and I don’t want to see him go. Let’s just hope for the best for OTH and for Antwon himself. If you like/love people you accept them as they are and do what you can to help them and encourage betterment. The guy is down and out right now I’m sure. He doesn’t need to be verbally abused up here. I know how people feed off other peoples faults or misfortunes. That’s a fault in itself in my book.
Antwon, I hope you look good and hard at your life at this time.
August 22nd, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Skills is a pretty cool guy, eh steals identities and doesn’t afraid of anything.
google- pretty cool guy