KANSAS CITY - Sixteen defendants have been indicted by a federal grand jury for participating in an identity theft conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Bradley J. Schlozman of the Western District of Missouri announced today.

Carlton Strother, 38, Arlester E. Scott, Jr., 41, Michelle Williams, 39, Cedric Anson, 36, Henry Durham, Jr., 37, Charles W. Vann, 32, Miles W. Thomas, 34, Kolet Boudreaux, 28, Sheri L. Zuber, 38, and Curtis Ray Brown, 50, all of Kansas City, Mo.; Barbara Deluce, 59, Stephen T. Edenfield, 33, and Stacy R. Neal, 32, all of Lee’s Summit, Mo.; Hope G. Madewell, 28, of Overland Park, Kan.; Tarik I. Liwaru, 34, of Kansas City, Kan., and Chandra L. Jenkins, 27, of Plano, Texas, were charged in a 37- count superseding indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City on Aug. 10, 2006. That indictment, which replaces an indictment that was returned under seal on March 15, 2006, was unsealed and made public upon the arrest and initial court appearances of several defendants.

“Two separate conspiracies, both using stolen identity information and counterfeit Kansas driver’s licenses, resulted in significant losses for a number of victims,” U.S. Attorney Schlozman explained. “Conspirators used stolen identity information to open credit accounts and make purchases at stores like Sam’s Club, Target, Old Navy, Home Depot and others. They also used the stolen identity information to finance an automobile purchase and to apply for cellular telephone service. A second conspiracy involved the use of stolen identity information to obtain more than $1 million in mortgages. Conspirators obtained three separate mortgages to purchase homes in Lee’s Summit and Kansas City, as well as lines of credit and credit cards at a bank in Texas.”

According to Special Agent in Charge Charles Green of the U.S. Secret Service, the indictment is the result of a long-term investigation that involved local, state and federal agencies.

The federal indictment alleges that, between March 3, 2005, and Sept. 26, 2005, Strother, Williams, Anson, Brown, Liwaru, Deluce, Durham, Madewell, Scott and Vann participated in a conspiracy to commit identity theft by obtaining personal identification information of persons together with their personal credit information, then using a personal computer to create counterfeit driver’s licenses in the names of the identity theft victims for the purpose of making unauthorized applications for credit. Personal identity information of the identity theft victims was allegedly stolen from two Kansas City-area businesses - Jeremy Franklin Suzuki and Hearthside Lending, a real estate loan brokerage - that kept large volumes of credit information of their customers, including credit bureau reports that reflected the creditworthiness of each identity theft victim. Scott, a former employee of Jeremy Franklin Suzuki, allegedly agreed to participate in the conspiracy by stealing credit bureau reports obtained by the car dealership in connection with the financing of automobile sales, then sold them to Strother.

According to the indictment, the conspirators who managed the scheme recruited others to the conspiracy by promising them a share of the proceeds. The identity theft victims’ financial information was used by the conspirators to make computer- generated counterfeit Kansas driver’s licenses, containing the information of the identity theft victims but with the photo of one of the recruited conspirators. The conspirators allegedly used the stolen identities and counterfeit driver’s licenses to make instant credit applications at retail stores while posing as the identity theft victims. Once the instant credit applications were approved, they made credit purchases of goods at the stores.

The federal indictment further charges Strother with aggravated identity theft. Those counts allege 17 specific instances from March 9, 2005, through Sept. 25, 2005, in which Strother used stolen identity information in order to defraud retail stores (and credit card companies that serviced the credit accounts of those stores) by opening credit accounts using the identity and credit information of identity theft victims and then using the credit accounts to effect transactions of at least $1,000 within a one-year period.

The federal indictment alleges that, from January 2006 to March 24, 2006, Strother, Thomas, Edenfield, Neal, Boudreaux, Jenkins and Zuber, together with unindicted co-conspirators who are not identified by name, conspired to defraud financial institutions and mortgage companies by making applications for real estate mortgages and other forms of credit using the identities and credit worthiness of identity theft victims. They allegedly obtained means of identification consisting of names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers of others without their authority or knowledge and used that identity information to apply for mortgage loans to purchase real estate. According to the indictment, the proceeds of the mortgage loans were applied to fraudulent accounts of non-existent business entities in order for the conspirators to take cash out of each transaction.

The federal indictment alleges that conspirators agreed to acquire stolen identification and personal financial information from area mortgage companies, including from Boudreaux, a former employee of Hartley Mortgage Company. The conspirators allegedly found a source to provide counterfeit Kansas driver’s licenses through an unindicted co-conspirator, who purchased them from Strother. The conspirators who managed the scheme allegedly recruited others by promising to share of the proceeds derived from the mortgage transactions.

According to the indictment, conspirators used stolen identity information to obtain three separate mortgages for two residential properties in Lee’s Summit and one property in Kansas City, totaling $1,166,000. Conspirators allegedly opened bank accounts in the names of identity theft victims and non-existent businesses, then had a portion of the loan proceeds wired to those accounts. Conspirators allegedly withdrew funds from those accounts and shared the proceeds.

Co-defendants Thomas and Zuber also traveled to Dallas, according to the indictment, where they opened a private mailbox account at a UPS store then proceeded to a Wells Fargo Bank branch to open two business accounts, all using the same stolen identity information. Jenkins, who at the time was an employee of the Wells Fargo branch, allegedly opened the business accounts and used the stolen identity information to make four applications for business lines of credit and credit cards at Wells Fargo Bank.

The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Cowles. It was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service Financial Crimes Task Force, including officers from the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, the Overland Park, Kan., Police Department, the Johnson County, Kan., Sheriff’s Department, the U. S. Postal Inspection Service, and IRS-Criminal Investigation.