PORTLAND, Ore. – A man who was part of a notorious identity theft ring that was based in Portland but operated in a dozen states around the country will plead guilty in federal court Tuesday to bank fraud charges.
Gregory Zimmerman, who spent two years as a fugitive before turning himself in last September, faces a long prison term when sentenced.
That’s why prosecutors are arguing that he be kept behind bars until that happens, pointing out he has already fled once.
http://liarcatchers.com/identity_theft_investigation.html
Meanwhile, Zimmerman’s lawyer is arguing that he should be freed on bail until sentencing.
Prosecutors called Zimmerman’s group a “team of thieves” and said he was responsible for forging most of the documents used in their crimes.
They stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from their victims and used the proceeds of their crimes to purchase items including guns and computer equipment, an iPod shuffle, a gold towel signed by Vijay Singh, a shirt signed by Phil Mickelson, a Piaget women’s watch and a 42-inch flat screen television.
In 2007, a federal crime alert was sent out describing the ring as having been active in Oregon, Washington, California, Texas, Iowa, Illinois, Florida, North Carolina, North Dakota, Georgia, Wisconsin and Colorado.
“This group of fraudsters will commonly burglarize professional businesses, such as attorney’s offices, financial institutions, mortgage and real estate businesses, medical firms and investment firms,” read the alert. “They typically research their target, determine the best time and date to make entry and then complete their crime, gaining entry with lock picks. Most of the burglaries occur on Friday nights, they are passing checks by Saturday. Conspirators include females who assume the identities of theft victims on Friday night in order to negotiate stolen and counterfeited checks at shopping mall banks in the local area before flying out of town on Sunday.”
