DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Ten Charged In D.C. Area Identity Theft Ring

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Dissent

Ten individuals were charged in Alexandria for their alleged involvement in a large-scale identity theft ring operating in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area since at least January 2012.

According to the 16-count indictment and a related criminal complaint, Janero Blalock and Christopher Bush allegedly recruited women to steal personal information, such as social security numbers, addresses, and dates of birth, from their employers, which included a local dental practice, insurer, and rental car company.  To date, over 600 potential victims have been identified, including many overseas employees of the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.  Members of the ring are alleged to have used the stolen identity information to manufacture fraudulent identification documents bearing their photographs and victims’ personal information, and would then use those fraudulent identification documents and victims’ social security numbers to open credit lines under victims’ names.  Through this scheme, members of the ring were allegedly able to obtain merchandise from various retailers, including Macy’s, Jared the Galleria of Jewelry, and Kay Jewelers.  To date, law enforcement has recovered 284 suspected fraudulent identification documents bearing victim information and ring members’ photographs.

The indictment charges the following offenses: Conspiracy to commit bank fraud, access device fraud, and identity theft, which is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of five years; bank fraud, which is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of thirty years; access device fraud, which is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years; identity theft, which is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years; and aggravated identity theft, which is punishable by a mandatory term of imprisonment of two years in addition to any other sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the United States Secret Service and the Fairfax County Police Department, with assistance from the City of Fairfax Police Department, Prince George’s County W.A.V.E. (Washington Area Vehicle Enforcement), Prince George’s County Financial Crimes Section, the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority, Delaware State Police, Maryland State Police, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Office of the  Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of State.

Assistant United States Attorney Lindsay A. Kelly and Special Assistant United States Attorney Peter V. Roman are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

The seven individuals arrested were:

Janero Blalock, 31, of Fort Washington, Maryland;
Christopher Bush, 39, of District Heights, Maryland;
Adrienne Pritchett, 42, of District Heights, Maryland;
Segale Battle, 30, of Washington, D.C.;
Jamille Ferguson, 31, of New York, New York, and Virginia;
Tekia Thomas, 20, of Alexandria, Virginia; and
Elizabeth Monika Hunter, 19, of Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Two additional defendants were already in state custody when federal charges were filed:  Jennifer Scruggs, 44, of Hyattsville, Maryland; and Rungnatee Pearson, 45.  An arrest warrant was issued for the remaining defendant, Kevin Middleton, 32, of Charleston, South Carolina.

Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty.

SOURCE: U.S. Attorney’s Office,  Eastern District of Virginia

Related posts:

  • IRS’s Top Ten Identity Theft Prosecutions
  • IRS’s Top 10 Identity Theft Prosecutions
  • Maryland Men Sentenced to Prison for Membership in Computer Fraud and ID Theft Ring That Targeted State Governments
Category: ID TheftInsider

Post navigation

← CVS thinks $50 is enough reward for giving up healthcare privacy
Liberty Mutual Insurance tells Schnuck Markets its insurance policy doesn’t cover data breach lawsuits and costs →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Horizon Healthcare RCM discloses ransomware attack in December
  • Disgruntled IT Worker Jailed for Cyber Attack, Huddersfield
  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
  • Texas Centers for Infectious Disease Associates Notifies Individuals of Data Breach in 2024
  • Battlefords Union Hospitals notifies patients of employee snooping in their records
  • Alert: Scattered Spider has added North American airline and transportation organizations to their target list
  • Northern Light Health patients affected by security incident at Compumedics; 10 healthcare entities affected
  • Privacy commissioner reviewing reported Ontario Health atHome data breach
  • CMS warns Medicare providers of fraud scheme
  • Ex-student charged with wave of cyber attacks on Sydney uni

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Supreme Court Decision on Age Verification Tramples Free Speech and Undermines Privacy
  • New Jersey Issues Draft Privacy Regulations: The New
  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
  • Germany Wants Apple, Google to Remove DeepSeek From Their App Stores
  • Supreme Court upholds Texas law requiring age verification on porn sites
  • Justices nix Medicaid ‘right’ to choose doctor, defunding Planned Parenthood in South Carolina
  • European Commission publishes its plan to enable more effective law enforcement access to data

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.