Three Philadelphia men were charged Thursday in an aggravated identity theft and bank fraud scheme that victimized 23 individuals and six banks throughout the region.
http://liarcatchers.com/identity_theft_investigation.html
Authorities said that from December 2006 through July 2011, Lawrence Fudge, 46, Shawn Robinson, 38, and Richard Williams, 23, used stolen identification information to fraudulently withdraw, or attempt to withdraw, more than $148,00 from victims’ bank accounts.
The trio also allegedly obtained retail credit cards in victims’ names and purchased, or attempted to purchase, goods worth more than $42,000.
The indictment said Fudge and Williams recruited individuals with access to personal and bank account information to provide them with names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers and bank account numbers of the victims.
Fudge then allegedly arranged for the manufacture of false photo IDs in the victims’ names, using pictures of individuals recruited to act as “check runners” who posed as victims and made the fraudulent transactions.
In one example in February 2008, a check runner reportedly made a $29,300 fraudulent withdrawal from a victim’s Citizens Bank account in Philadelphia.
Authorities said the defendants, if convicted of all charges, face a mandatory minimum of two years in prison.
