January 21, 2010
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News: Guess Who Is Watching You!
If you've been in court lately, you might want to keep a close eye on your credit card statement for suspicious activity. According to court documents, A Seattle Municipal Court employee was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in an identity theft ring. The employee, whose name has been withheld, was in charge of processing court fees and fines. The individual allegedly passed along stolen credit card information to the ringleaders listed as "access device information." According to Federal prosecutors, the ringleaders Diamond Wendell Alexander Jr. and Crystal Loren Lee, allegedly solicited individuals across the country in various key positions that had easy access to Americans' credit card information.
Alexander and Lee would then take the stolen credit card information for illegal transactions predominately at Wal-Mart to purchase gift cards. Together, the two racked up over $300,000 in fraudulent transactions. The two suspects were indicted along with a Des Moines Jack-in-the-Box employee, Timur Rashiel Harris, and another individual, Cassie Louise St. Cyr, who also used counterfeit credit cards for illegal transactions. Harris allegedly ran customer cards through a skimming device given to her by Alexander and Lee. The device was then used to produce the counterfeit cards. The four suspects are named in a six-count indictment filed in Seattle by federal prosecutors. The court employee, a woman, has been terminated from her position at the Seattle Municipal Court house.
Prosecutors began their investigation after a search warrant application was filed when police stopped Lee for a traffic violation and discovered it was a stolen vehicle. The court employee was a passenger in the car. The auto VIN numbers had been switched to cover-up a major auto theft ring. During the search, the authorities discovered documents which had been copied at the Seattle Municipal Courthouse and bearing the court's customers' names and credit card numbers. During the investigation, the court employee admitted to stealing the victims' names and card numbers and selling them to Alexander and Lee. Both Lee and St. Cyr have previous records for theft and financial crimes. Alexander, Lee, and Harris all remain in jail awaiting a hearing.