A 32-year-old Atlanta woman arrested Monday in Oconee County is the subject of a widening investigation into a massive identity theft probe that authorities said involves three states and likely will grow.
“We’ve got 12 identity theft-related charges, but it will be bigger than that,” Oconee County sheriff’s Chief Deputy Lee Weems said Tuesday. “We’re still contacting victims and there will be multiple states.”
Angela Davida Miller of Madison Drive, Atlanta, remains in the county jail without bond.
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The case already extends outside Georgia to Alabama and Tennessee, Weems said, adding that other agencies are being made aware of the investigation.
The arrest of Miller occurred about 11:30 a.m. Monday on Georgia Highway 316 when sheriff’s Cpl. Clark Sparrow and Deputy Kendall White were testing a tag reader system, in which a camera set up with a scanner system photographs tags of passing cars and runs the numbers through a database to find such violations as suspended registration and uninsured vehicles, according to Weems.
The system is one of several being tested in anticipation of equipping patrol units with the devices, Weems said.
The deputies received an alert on the vehicle driven by Miller, and after having the information verified through dispatch, a traffic stop was made near Virgil Langford Road, Weems said.
“The woman was exceedingly nervous … beyond the level of what someone normally is on a traffic stop,” he said. “She gave some conflicting answers to things they asked. She told them she was in the Army, but when they asked her some military questions she didn’t know the answers.”
Miller was arrested on charges of having a suspended license and suspended vehicle. The vehicle was later searched and officers located numerous financial documents, a printer, voided checks, computer equipment, and mail that contained information on other people, according to the sheriff’s report.
Some of the documents were found in a hidden compartment in the vehicle, Weems said.
After the case was turned over to an investigator, 12 warrants charging her with identity fraud were obtained. Weems said he had no information on whether these victims had a financial loss as a result of the suspect possessing their personal information, but this is being investigated.
The 12 charges “are just a drop in the bucket,” he said.
While Miller was expected to have a bond hearing late Tuesday, Weems said he considered Miller a flight risk.
“I’m wondering if she might have some fraudulent identification for herself stashed somewhere,” he said.
