California Identity Theft
Several interesting California identity theft cases have arisen in recent years. In one California identity theft case, one very bold individual allegedly stole the identities of 28 people. A significant feat in itself but the thief did not stop there. He proceeded to use those 28 stolen identities to submit 28 false federal income tax returns. Filing some of the forms through the US postal system and some electronically over the Internet, the thief requested income tax refunds averaging approximately $50,000 for each return filed. Nnamdi Opara was arrested for allegedly trying to commit a major fraud against the United States through identity theft. Besides trying to defraud the United States, Opara also allegedly unlawfully obtained and American Express card number belonging to Ted Danson, the television start of Cheers and Becker fame, and used that card to order a digital camera. He had requested that the camera be delivered to a mailbox that he controlled. As a result of all charges, Opara faces more than 560 years in prison and a fine of $14M. Sometimes identity theft is committed in furtherance of or in addition to other crimes. The next California identity theft case illustrates that sometimes identity theft is ancillary to a horrific crime. Supawan Veerapol, a Thai national, was found guilty of one count of involuntary servitude and three counts of harboring undocumented Thai women at her home. Ms. Veerapol was sentenced to 97 months in prison for holding several women in her home against their will. In addition to being held against their will, the Thai women were forced to work in the house, and Veerapol threatened their families if the women tried to leave. While holding the Thai women in slavery, Ms. Veerapol used the identities of two of her victims to open credit card accounts. She used these fraudulent accounts to order and receive more than $80,000 worth of property. Ms. Veerapol was eventually convicted of six counts of mail fraud related to the identity theft. The third California identity theft case involves a customer service representative employed at a car rental agency at the Sacramento International Airport, Charles Timothy, stole identity information in the course of his employment. Timothy and two others, Oliver Alafule and Ifeany Onwuazo, then used that stolen personal identifying information to apply for credit cards. These individuals obtained more than twenty different twenty different mailboxes at numerous private mailbox centers in the Sacramento area, to which they had the illegally obtained credit cards sent. This California identity theft scheme involved over $500,000. Credit is not impossible to avoid but it has become a larger and more frequent part of the daily lives of many Americans. This case should serve to give pause to anyone thinking about using credit cards even in the normal course of business. |
