Six suspected members of an identity-theft ring that allegedly stole mail and driver’s licenses from dozens of Denver-area victims have been indicted by the state grand jury.
Authorities so far have identified 52 victims of the ring – 17 individuals and 35 businesses, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said Tuesday.
The thieves stole mail from mailboxes and licenses from cars to create fake IDs and phony checks, which were then used to make purchases at area businesses, authorities said.
“It’s just a nightmare,” said one victim, MacDonald “Mac” Bowyer of Boulder.
Bowyer and his wife had mail stolen from their box in Boulder. Bowyer said his bank caught the unusual activity.
“The detective told me it (identity theft) is a matter of when, not if, you get hit,” Bowyer said.
The six indicted people have been arrested, and Suthers said that as the investigation continues, more people may be arrested and the losses may grow considerably. “Tens of thousands of dollars in losses” have been documented so far, Suthers said.
The suspects, if convicted, face maximum prison terms of between 43 and 165 years.
Another alleged victim of the ring was John Warosh of Littleton, a retired employee of 3M. Warosh said that on Aug. 7, two men pulled up in a car in front of his home. One walked into his garage and got into Warosh’s 1991 Acura.
Warosh said he started yelling at the man in the Acura, and the second man leaped from the car in the street and charged into the garage.
“He came after me with a knife and chased me into the kitchen,” Warosh, 80, recalled Tuesday. “He kept yelling, ‘Give me the keys! Give me the keys!’ Luckily the keys were on the kitchen counter. He looked down, saw them and took them.”
The man and his sidekick drove off in Warosh’s Acura, he said. No ID-theft charges arose from the incident.
Meth suspect leaves trail
The 14-month investigation was sparked after members of the North Metro Drug Task Force saw a suspect in a methamphetamine investigation leave a Westminster house in a stolen vehicle.
When members of the task force searched the Westminster home, they found numerous garbage bags of stolen mail and forged documents as well as computer gear used to make driver’s licenses and checks, said Suthers.
“The plague of identity theft has reached epidemic proportions,” Suthers said in a statement. He called the case “exceptional, but the tactics of the alleged offenders are as common as the motive behind the crime. Methamphetamine abuse is responsible for a great deal of criminal conduct in Colorado.”
Authorities would not spell out Tuesday how the alleged crimes were tied to any meth abuse. No drug charges were announced Tuesday.
Indicted by the grand jury for alleged violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act were Jessica Prather, 25; Christopher “Sam Bam” France, 36; and Christopher Applegate, 31. All three also face counts of theft, conspiracy, possession of ID-theft tools and numerous counts of identity theft.
Also named in the 71-count indictment were Brandy Creal, 26; Allyson Turner, 25; and Brian Nicholson, 23. They face charges of identity theft, forgery and conspiracy.The ring targeted many mailboxes in Boulder County, the indictment alleged.
Barry Cunningham lives on a mountain road in Sunshine Canyon, 2 1/2 miles from downtown Boulder. He and his neighbors use mailboxes that are grouped together along the highway, more than a mile from his house.
Cunningham said he had just returned from vacation last September when investigators came to his door and told his wife that their mail and IDs had been stolen. The thieves allegedly had passed a $626 check at a Wal-Mart store using a driver’s license in Cunningham’s name.
Investigators told Cunningham that about six mailboxes in the neighborhood cluster had been ransacked.
“I changed bank accounts and credit cards,” Cunningham said. “I had to shut everything down. I changed everything.”
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
How to keep your mail safer
Don’t leave outgoing mail in an unsecured home mailbox.
Promptly remove mail from your mailbox after delivery, especially if you’re expecting checks, credit cards or other negotiable items. Don’t leave it in your mailbox overnight.
Tell your post office when you’ll be out of town, so it can hold your mail.
Pick up new checks at your bank. Never get boxes of checks through the mail.
Tell financial institutions you do business with not to share your customer information.
Report all mail theft to a postal inspector. The Colorado office is at 1745 Stout St., Suite 900, Denver, CO 80299; or call 877-876-2455.
Sources: U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Colorado Attorney General’s Office
More tips for protecting your identity
- Carry any documents with sensitive information such as driver’s licenses, debit and credit cards and checks in a close-fitting pouch.
- Safeguard financial information, such as Social Security number, account numbers and statements. Buy a cross-cut shredder to destroy documents.
- Do not put the entire account number in the memo section of checks; use the last four digits.
- Get a credit card with your photograph on the front.
- Prevent preapproved credit card offers from being sent to your home by calling 888-5-OPT-OUT.
- Do not put your phone number or Social Security number on checks.
- Ask the bank or credit union to receive your box of new checks and pick them up there.
- When in doubt, pay with cash.
- Request credit report copies once a year.
To report theft:
- Call the police in the jurisdiction where it took place.
- Contact the Federal Trade Commission at 877-FTC-HELP or www.ftc.gov.
- Call the credit card company.
- If mail is stolen, call the 24-hour U.S. Postal Inspection Service number, 303-313-5320.
Sources: Jefferson County Sheriff’s and district attorney’s offices; U.S. Postal Service
