WASHINGTON (AP) - A former State Department employee has pleaded guilty to an identity theft plot in which he and others used stolen credit cards to make more than $70,000 in purchases.

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Twenty-six-year-old Rodney Quarles Jr. of Charlotte Hall, Md., entered the plea Friday. He agreed to pay restitution and faces a maximum of 15 years in prison at sentencing Jan. 11.

According to court document, Quarles worked for the Bureau of Consular Affairs in the passport office. Prosecutors say Quarles and others used credit cards stolen by a postal service employee and information from passports to activate fraudulent accounts.