From Staff Reports
JEFFERSON COUNTY – A former customer service representative for a tax software company has been charged with identity theft. On March 19, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Investigators received an email from a victim in another state that indicated he had received direct threats to steal his identity from a man who lived in Jefferson County. The victim included copies of correspondence between himself and the suspect.
According to Jefferson County Chief Deputy Randy Christian, the victim reported that he had contacted customer service for a large tax preparation software company in an effort to resolve an issue with his income tax return. The victim claims that the customer service representative was rude and insulting and that he was offended by the behavior.
On the following day, the victim received an email from the customer service representative that berated him and indicated he should consider showing proper respect “especially when it concerns an issue as vital as your identity”. The victim considered this email to be threatening and contacted the company directly. He was told that the customer service representative worked for a contractor and would be fired because of this.
The next day, the victim received a second email from the suspect. This correspondence indicated that the suspect only used his position as a customer service representative to “obtain necessary data to pursue my actual career.” The suspect went on to describe the actions he had taken to avoid discovery and how he was planning to destroy the victim’s identity.
Sheriff’s Investigators located the suspect and found that he too had been a victim of identity theft. The man who had claimed to be him while corresponding with the initial victim had stolen his identity to obtain work as a customer service representative.
Detectives learned the true identity of the suspect is 32-year-old Tony Michael Canterberry of Birmingham. Detectives contacted Canterberry by email and asked that he call them or come and talk to them about this case. Canterberry has refused to do so, instead commenting about how intelligent he is and how he would not be captured.
Sheriff’s Detectives obtained four felony arrest warrants charging Canterberry with Identity Theft. He remains at large. When he is captured his bond will be set at $340,000.
Canterberry has a history of criminal charges including illegal possession of a credit card, burglary, and theft.
Anyone with information about his location is asked to call the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office at 205-325-1450 or Crimestoppers at 205-254-7777.