An August 25 Newsweek article mentioned that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke had fallen prey to identity thieves after Mr. Bernanke’s wife had her purse stolen.  One of the people believed to have been responsible for that identity theft is Clyde Austin Gray, Jr.  Mr. Gray had conspired to commit identity theft nationwide, according to the single-count criminal information in U.S.A. v. Gray, Index No. l:09-CR-00326.  A July 22, 2009 factual statement shows that Mr. Gray was a ringleader who had stolen over 2.1 million dollars from at least ten financial institutions such as SunTrust Bank of Atlanta and M & T Trust in Buffalo.

He and other identity thieves had acquired bank account numbers, credit cards, driver’s licenses and other identifying information through pick pocketing, mail theft, the use of “insiders” at professional offices, etc.  The August 25th Newsweek article additionally mentioned that Mr. Gray pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to commit bank fraud (18 U.S.C. §1349).  The Newsweek article also observed that identity thieves can victimize both the “mighty and powerful” and “hapless consumers”.

In a completely different identity theft case I have written about, a major illegal narcotics trafficker lost the $6.3 million he had hidden in a Cayman Island bank account.  As set forth in “A Tax Fraud & Identity Theft From Miami“, that trafficker’s $6.3 million was transferred by an identity thief from the Cayman Island bank account to Mexico.  The identity thief had accomplished this transfer by impersonating the trafficker in two letters to the Cayman Island bank.

The trafficker however, soon learned that he had lost his millions because of the identity thief’s letters and then killed the identity thief.  Sanitized copies of these letters used by the identity thief to impersonate the trafficker, are reproduced below:

Click On The Above Letters For A Better View

Copyright 2009 Fred L. Abrams