Golden – Thirteen people indicted on more than 150 counts related to identity theft are part of a fast-growing statewide problem of personal information being stolen for financial gain, Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey said Monday.
“Identity theft is a very significant issue,” Storey said in announcing the two grand jury indictments.
The charges allege people stole identities to create fake checks and fraudulently acquire merchandise they then sold to buy methamphetamine.
In 2005, Colorado ranked fifth in the nation in the number of identity-theft victims per capita, with more than 4,500 Coloradans reporting identity theft, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The situation has worsened since 2003, when Colorado ranked 11th, and since 2002, when Colorado was 13th.
Storey, other law enforcement officials and sponsors of a bill introduced Monday in the state House say thieves target Colorado because it is one of only two states without specific identity-theft laws.
One indictment contains 96 counts, and the other has 60 counts. Storey lauded “very tedious and very excellent police work,” with Arvada and Westminster officers spearheading multi-jurisdictional investigations from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins.
The first indictment, which took two years to investigate, names Robert Law, 42; Delayne Law, 49; Scott Zubiceh, 34; Shaun Bogner, 27; Rodney Smith, 38; Michael Smith, 28; Erin Salmen, 22; Myra Secret, 45, and Gina Muniz, 35. All are in custody except Rodney and Michael Smith. Warrants have been issued for their arrest.
From Jan. 1, 2004, through Jan. 31, 2005, group members stole mail from mailboxes along the Front Range and created fictional checks and identification documents on a computer, said Jefferson County Deputy District Attorney Tom Jackson.
The suspects, who he said are all alleged methamphetamine users, opened credit accounts with stores, cashed the phony checks, opened bank accounts in false names, and bought items that were traded for drugs.
A year of investigation yielded the second indictment of Nichole Bailey, 31; Robert Bell, 28; Eric Peterson, 22, and Karima Howard, 42. Peterson and Howard are in custody, and warrants have been issued for Bailey and Bell.
Jackson said members of the second group would “get high on methamphetamines” and call banks to see what accounts were valid. They would then change account numbers slightly.
The information was used to make forged checks, he said. The checks would be cashed or used to buy items at stores and banks with the aim of buying drugs.
Many jurisdictions, particularly in rural areas, don’t have the resources to investigate and prosecute such cases, Storey said.
Bob Brown of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said the complex cases require diligence and interagency cooperation.
HB 1326, sponsored by Reps. Bill Crane, R-Arvada, and Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley, would create identity-theft crimes and a mandatory prison sentence of two to 12 years on second conviction.
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
Tips to prevent identity theft
To report theft:
Sources: Jefferson County Sheriff’s and district attorney’s offices; U.S. Postal Service
