Steve Alexander reports: A potentially large check-fraud operation has been broken up by Minnesota investigators, exposing a ring that allegedly stole account information from checks that businesses submitted to the state Department of Labor and Industry to pay fines. So far, no one has been charged in the case, but a state clerical employee who…
Category: Insider
(update) Swiss to exclude stolen data from tax cooperation
Switzerland will not cooperate with foreign authorities on tax cases where client data has been stolen from banks, its Finance Department said on Wednesday, following a recent spat with France. “No administrative assistance can be provided in the case of violation of public policy or the principle of good faith,” the department said in a…
(follow-up) 4 North Texans accused of cybercrime conspiracy arrested in Mexico
Eric Torbenson reports: Four people from North Texas indicted last week by a federal grand jury in Dallas were arrested Friday morning in Cancun, Mexico, according to the FBI. Michael Faulkner, 36, and his wife, Chastity Faulkner, 34, both of Southlake, were central figures in the 19-person indictment brought by U.S. Attorney James Jacks. Michael…
Time employee fired for misusing customer data
On January 4, Time Inc. alerted the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office that a customer service employee in Florida may have misused customer credit card data provided by several customers as part of their calls to customer service. The employee was terminated, and Time reported the matter to law enforcement. On December 31, Time sent…
IL: More charges, suspects in ID theft ring
Matt Hanley reports: An identity theft ring uncovered in Oswego last year involved more than just thefts in Kendall County. Police across the Fox Valley quietly made arrests they hoped would lead to other suspects, while Oswego’s larger investigation continued for nearly a year. This week, Oswego police announced four people had been charged with…
ID theft and fraud defense: Multiple Personality Disorder?
Tom Witowsky reports on a case where lawyers for accused embezzler Phyllis Stevens are considering offering her psychiatric history of being treated for Multiple Personality Disorder as part of their defense in federal court. Stevens was indicted on 20 counts of money laundering, wire fraud, identity theft and computer fraud for allegedly embezzling nearly $6…