Identity Theft—Garbin and Fitzgerald

According to the Monterey Herald, two “major” players in an identity theft scheme have been arrested “on federal charges of identity theft and mail fraud.”^[1] Raymond Garbin and James Fitzgerald were indicted by a federal grand jury on February 1 on those charges and others, including conspiracy to possess stolen mail.^[2]

The two men apparently lived a “chaotic but extravagant” life on the run, settling in areas only to disappear months later.^[3] They were eventually arrested at a resort, where local law enforcement authorities allegedly discovered a “stunning cache of forgery supplies, checks and counterfeiting equipment,” along with a “partially made fake Arizona driver license, forged and stolen checks under various names, Social Security cards and a California driver license for Jorge Medina, a false identity investigators say James Fitzgerald used in Monterey to rent an apartment on Casanova Street.”^[4]

An interesting aspect about this case is that even though “the federal case was headed by the U.S. Postal Service in San Jose,” it began with Monterey and Santa Cruz county investigations in California.^[5] Federal investigators heretofore had rarely picked up mail fraud cases from the county level, which, as the Monterey County Chief Assistant District Attorney said, “is surprising, since it is the U.S. mail, after all.”^[6]

The federal investigation may be due to increased demand and pressure for harsher penalties against people who commit identity theft. Over the past year a number of new identity theft bills have been introduced in Congress, including one sponsored by Senator Feinstein, which we discussed in November. There is a substantial likelihood that federal investigations of this type, where it starts out as a local issue, will increase.

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[1] Julia Reynolds et al., Major Player in Identity Theft Scheme Arrested, Monterey Herald, Feb. 27, 2006.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.