Federal prosecutors say an Illinois man has pleaded guilty in an identity theft ring that ensnared Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as a victim.

Forty-nine-year-old Leonardo Darnell Zanders of Dolton, Ill., entered the guilty plea on Monday after several witnesses testified at his trial.

According to testimony and court documents, Zanders directed a nationwide fraud scheme to steal from people and financial institutions.

At trial on Monday, co-defendant Darrell Earl Price testified that Zanders gave him checks in the name of Ben and Anna Bernanke, and Price used those checks in the scheme.