ID THEFT NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATE

We represent victims of identity theft across the country. Identity theft is an epidemic, especially in the South. Few identity thieves are arrested and convicted. What can consumers do do protect their credit reports?

Federal law provides identity theft victims with rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Under federal law, identity theft victims have a right to two free credit reports every 12 months. Also, identity theft victims can place a fraud alert on their credit file. Like victims of credit report errors, identity theft victims have the right to dispute fraudulent credit report information, such as accounts, name variations, public records and addresses.

Here are some of the identity theft stories from across the South that we are following:

Woman arrested in $9.5 million tax fraud – Miami, Florida – Miami Hurricanes (blog) – The notebook and folder contained more than 1000 names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers belonging to identity theft victims, which were used to submit the fraudulent tax refund claims, court records showed.

Arrests made in thefts from online bank accounts – Miami, Florida – MiamiHerald.com – Elias is charged with one count of conspiring to commit bank fraud, 16 counts of substantive bank fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count for destruction of evidence. The indictment also alleges that Hernandez and Batista …

Nugent wants IRS to crack down on ID fraud – Gainesville, Florida – Gainesville Sun – A former Ocala Police Department officer, Brown was sentenced Tuesday to more than six years in prison for his role in an identity theft scheme built on pilfering federal tax refunds. Brown, according to prosecutors, tapped into the state’s database.

Two indicted for ID theft, tax fraud – Orlando, Florida – Sun-Sentinel – By Wayne K. Roustan, Sun Sentinel A 32-year-old Hollywood man is one of two people indicted for identity theft in a tax fraud scheme, according to US Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer. The 15-count indictment alleges Edwin Bonannee and Sabrina …

Dominican national sentenced to 30 months for identity theft – Orlando, Florida – Orlando Sentinel – A Dominican national who has been living in Winter Springs was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison Friday for aggravated identity theft and making a false statement on a passport application. Youk Antonio Deschamps, 48, had been using the personal …

Offices need to lock up IDs to prevent theft – Orlando, Florida – Sun-Sentinel – By Donna Gehrke-White, Sun Sentinel With South Florida leading the nation in identity theft, companies especially need to safeguard employees’ and clients’ personal information from being taken by dishonest co-workers. More identity theft is coming not …

Police flush ID theft scheme – Tampa, Florida – Tbo.com – Gefrey Pierre, 30, is charged with fraudulent use of personal information — detectives said he used his brother’s identity to rent the room — and grand theft of a motor vehicle. He also is charged with possession of marijuana and driving with a …

Federal blunders enable ID theft – Tampa, Florida – Tbo.com – “That’s the problem with most identity theft is they (victims) have no idea where their information was compromised,” said Nikki Junker of the Identity Theft Resource Center in San Diego. “No one ever knows until it’s too late.

12 On Your Side: Children becoming targets for identity theft – Augusta, Georgia – WRDW-TV – Many of the young people at Helping Hands find out they’re victims of identity theft when they try and move out on their own. “They’ll have family members that have put light bills or cable bills or cell phone bills in their names and they are not aware …

ID Theft in Backyard of Texas Attorney General – Laredo, Texas – Courthouse News Service – By CAMERON LANGFORD – An identity thief who used her position in the Texas Attorney General’s Office to claim other people’s tax refunds will serve 2 1/2 years prison. Eloisa Garcia Casso pleaded guilty to the crime on Feb. . . .

Identity Theft Most Popular Consumer Complaint in 2011 – Houston, Texas – Houston Chronicle- RoadFish.com men’s lifestyle and finance magazine today commented on the number one consumer complaint of 2011, which according to the Federal Trade Commission, was identity theft. The FTC reported that it received over 1.8 million complaints from …

Identity theft leads to faulty criminal record – Houston, Texas – 39online.com – For years he’s been working to clear his name, the victim of identity theft, he says, that’s left him floundering in a whirlpool of fraudulent debts, everything from the IRS to unpaid doctors’ bills and wolves howling nightly at his door.

Identity theft victim fights to clear his name after deadly crash – FORT WORTH, TEXAS – ABC15.com (KNXV-TV) – A Texas man is trying to clear his name after his identity was stolen. Another man, involved in a deadly accident, pretended to be him. And, apparently, it wasn’t the first time. James Dale Morgan recently drove a thousand miles, …

Suspect sentenced in identity theft case – Hattiesburg, Mississippi – Hattiesburg American – Only one suspect remains to be sentenced following the arrest of 10 in a federal investigation of an identity theft ring in Laurel last year. Jose Felipe Sanchez-Acencio, 24, was sentenced to the time he already served in jail plus two years of …

2 men sentenced for ID theft, to be deported – Jackson, Mississippi – Jackson Clarion Ledger – Two men have been sentenced to federal prison terms for conspiracy to commit identity theft and sale of fraudulent Social Security cards. Enrique Martinez-Flores, 49, of Mexico, was sentenced to the maximum 60 months in prison by US District Judge …

Fort Bragg police: Two boys posing as officers in ID theft scam – Fort Bragg, North Carolina – Ukiah Daily Journal – Two teenage boys are possibly going door-to-door in Fort Bragg posing as police officers who are investigating identity theft to get personal information, according to the Fort Bragg Police Department. The FBPD took a report about the boys, …

Four Arrested in Federal Identity Theft Investigation – Rockingham, North Carolina – Richmond County Daily Journal, Rockingham, NC (MCT) — Four people have pleaded guilty in connection to identity theft charges after a joint federal investigation by the United States Secret Service and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.

Man gets prison for posing as SEAL in identity theft case – Norfolk, Virginia – The Virginian-Pilot – In this case; he pleaded guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Haynes admitted that he posed as a Navy SEAL, a SEAL chief or a chief petty officer to gain the trust of young sailors. He obtained their personal information and used it to …

Are you a victim of identity theft? Have you disputed credit report errors to the nationwide credit bureaus and the fraudulent information was verified? Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), consumers have the right to dispute credit report errors. The credit reporting agencies must block information from appearing in your credit report that is the result of identity theft. The credit bureaus must block the information within 4 business days of receipt of an identity theft report. Under the FCRA, you have the right to sue the credit bureaus if they fail to perform a reasonable investigation or refuse to investigate your credit report disputes.