MARYVILLE, Tenn. — A Maryville man was sentenced to 63 years in prison after authorities said he stole the identity of a missing 19-year-old man.
Officials with the Blount County Sheriff's Office said Terry Lynn Nuchols, 63, from Maryville, was arrested in February after police said he used a debit card that belonged to a missing Maryville 19-year-old, Michael "Heath" Stephens. They said Nuchols used his debit card multiple times at ATMs from Sept. 2018 through Jan. 2019.
They said he also deposited checks written from the missing man's bank account in December 2018.
Nuchols was charged with four counts of identity theft and one count of forgery greater than $10,000. He was convicted on all five counts in Feb. 2020, but his sentencing was delayed to June 9, 2021, due to the pandemic.
He was sentenced to 12 years in prison for each count of identity theft and 15 years in prison for the county of forgery, totaling 63 years in prison.
Stephens was reported missing in Sept. 2018 and has not been seen or heard from since then, according to BCSO. Anyone with information about his disappearance should call the investigations office at (865) 273-5001.
People can also leave a message on the 24-hour anonymous crime hotline at (865) 273-5200.