Identity Theft
12/21/2011
Identity Theft
North Bay: The NC3TF arrested a Northern California man suspected of Identity Theft. The suspect was initially identified when an NC3TF Detective followed up on multiple reports of Identity Theft originating from one apartment complex in the City of Walnut Creek. In dealing with investigators from three of the affected credit card companies, it was determined that one suspect was likely responsible for over $260,000.00 in charges using additional credit cards from over 200 known victims throughout Marin, Contra Costa and Solano Counties. The suspect was buying high-end clothing, and electronics. Most of the electronics were Apple products such as Ipods, Ipads, and Macbooks. The suspect had the victims’ mail forwarded to vacant homes in the Bay Area where it would then be retrieved. The mail forwarding was accomplished using the US Postal Service web site. The suspect was identified after the NC3TF Detective identified a Craigslist ad for the sale of Apple products which was consistent with the products known to have been fraudulently purchased. NC3TF Detectives arranged to purchase the product, which was ultimately determined to have been purchased with a fraudulently obtained credit card. The suspect was arrested during a subsequent search of his residence. A search of his residence revealed additional property purchased with fraudulently obtained credit cards, counterfeit California Driver licenses, and the personal identifying information of over 200 additional victims.