Identity Theft Protection Lock

2 Men Allowed Into Home to Install Satellite TV turns into Identity Theft

In Kansas City, Kansas three people were charged with wire fraud in May, 2008 in a criminal complaint filed by federal agents who described how they followed a winding paper trail of false names, addresses, Social Security numbers, credit cards and bank accounts.

A 32 year old and his 27 year old wife and a second 29 year old man, all of Kansas City, Kansas were charged with one count of wire fraud involving a total loss of more than $116,000. Investigators found evidence in Kansas City, Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, Lawton, Oklahoma and Purcell, Oklahoma. The complaint describes how the investigation began Jan. 18, 2008, when the U.S. Secret Service received a report of a man in Lawton, Okla., who complained that someone had stolen his identity and used it to obtain a credit card and an auto loan. Investigators determined that the man’s name had been used to obtain a MasterCard with a $10,000 limit, a checking account with the United Services Automobile Association Federal Savings Bank, and a consumer auto loan in the amount of $33,063.50 to purchase a 2006 Ford F-150.

Investigators followed a trail left by the online application for the auto loan to an Internet provider’s address belonging to a woman in Lawrence, Kansas. By talking to the dealership in Purcell, Okla., where the truck was purchased investigators confirmed that the buyer had an Oklahoma driver’s license obtained by using the stolen identity. The name on the license belonged to the man whose identity was stolen, and the person in the photo was the 32 old accused.

Talking to the man whose identity was stolen, investigators learned that he recently had hired the 32 year old and his 29 year old friend to install satellite television in his home. They gave him a business card with the name Audio Visions Inc. The man also told investigators that when he tried to file his tax return, the Internal Revenue Service notified him that a return already had been filed in his name by someone using an address in Lawrence, Kansas. Investigators learned that the office space occupied by Audio Visions in Purcell, Okla., had been leased by the 32 year old accused using a stolen identity.

The manager of the property said the 32 year old moved out of the office one day without notice. On Feb. 27, 2008, investigators interviewed a man in Oklahoma City who told them he had worked for the 32 year old accused at Audio Visions. The man said he became friends with the 32 year old and his wife. The man said the 32 year old paid him $300 a week to answer phones and obtain information from customers who wanted Dish Network TV service installed. The accused man gave him a script in which he was to ask customers for full name, date of birth, Social Security number and address. The man said the accused had told him that if police ever asked any questions he should be ready to “box everything up” and burn it. He also said the 32 year old accused showed him several drivers’ licenses with the accused’s photo and other people’s names.

Investigators also learned that a Visa card issued in the name of the man whose identity was stolen was used to purchase more than $70,845 in merchandise including television sets and video game consoles from a well known retail store in Lawrence. On May 7, 2008, investigators identified a duplex on Alma Street in Lawrence, Kan., where the 32 year old, his wife and the 29 year old man had lived before moving out without paying rent and leaving no forwarding address. They interviewed the woman whose Internet provider address had been used to apply for the car loan.

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She had lived next door to the defendants. The woman said that she had installed wireless high speed Internet services while living in the duplex. She said the wireless router was not secured and it was possible for anyone who had a computer with a wireless adapter to use her Internet connection without her permission and without entering a password. On May 7, 2008, investigators located the defendants on Barnett Street in Kansas City, Kansas, and arrested them. The defendants are in custody in Wyandotte County. Detention hearings are set for May 20. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The U.S. Secret Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Morehead is prosecuting.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 10th, 2008 at 9:13 pm and is filed under Identity Theft, Identity Thieves in prison. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.