September 2008
A clue to fraud
A DETECTIVE’S discovery Detective Ted Paxton, investigating another case, found a rented house, with stolen identities, including Protain’s.
Photos by David AhntholzThe big break in Joe Protain’s case came with a complaint filed in June 2007 by a 22-year-old Worthington, Ohio, woman who
said bank and credit-card accounts had been fraudulently opened in her name. Ted Paxton, a Worthington police detective, found
that her billing statements and illegally purchased merchandise were being sent to two addresses in Columbus.
When Paxton obtained a warrant to search those locations, he found signs of an ID-theft ring: expensive stereo equipment, clothing, and boxes of new athletic shoes stacked floor to ceiling. He also discovered several credit cards in the names of identity-theft victims, including Protain, as well as a laptop containing stolen identity information for 200 other potential victims in Ohio and at least four other states.
Paxton said one of the ID-theft ring suspects confessed the ring used the Franklin County Municipal Court Web site to enter random Social Security numbers, changing one digit at a time until hitting a match with a number belonging to one of the thousands of people whose court records had been posted online since 2001. The records revealed the victim’s name, address, age, and in some cases, driver’s-license number. That allowed members of the ID theft ring to obtain a copy of the victim’s credit report and take over existing accounts or open new ones, with bills and purchases sent to a new address.
The case has been turned over to the U.S. Secret Service, which investigates financial crimes involving interstate commerce. "We’re working with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Columbus to present our case for prosecution and to identify all parties involved," says Jamie Fitch, in charge of the agency’s Columbus office.
The Franklin County Municipal Court has since strengthened security on its site by eliminating the search mechanisms that the ID-theft ring exploited and by removing all Social Security numbers and other sensitive personal information before public records are released.
When Paxton obtained a warrant to search those locations, he found signs of an ID-theft ring: expensive stereo equipment, clothing, and boxes of new athletic shoes stacked floor to ceiling. He also discovered several credit cards in the names of identity-theft victims, including Protain, as well as a laptop containing stolen identity information for 200 other potential victims in Ohio and at least four other states.
Paxton said one of the ID-theft ring suspects confessed the ring used the Franklin County Municipal Court Web site to enter random Social Security numbers, changing one digit at a time until hitting a match with a number belonging to one of the thousands of people whose court records had been posted online since 2001. The records revealed the victim’s name, address, age, and in some cases, driver’s-license number. That allowed members of the ID theft ring to obtain a copy of the victim’s credit report and take over existing accounts or open new ones, with bills and purchases sent to a new address.
The case has been turned over to the U.S. Secret Service, which investigates financial crimes involving interstate commerce. "We’re working with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Columbus to present our case for prosecution and to identify all parties involved," says Jamie Fitch, in charge of the agency’s Columbus office.
The Franklin County Municipal Court has since strengthened security on its site by eliminating the search mechanisms that the ID-theft ring exploited and by removing all Social Security numbers and other sensitive personal information before public records are released.
