Eastside ID Theft Ring Suspects Arrested in Lake Forest Park

The head of an organized Eastside identity theft ring and several of her associates were arrested this week after months of investigation, the reported Thursday.

Two women, including the ringleader, and three men were arrested in Lake Forest Park this week. They range from ages 30 to 40, according to the Bellevue Police Department.

According to a press release from the Bellevue Police Department, the investigation stemmed from an auto theft and drug investigation in the fall of 2011.

The investigation uncovered evidence of the Bellevue-based, organized identity theft ring. The woman who led the ring received mail and personal financial documents obtained by her crew through car prowls, mail thefts, and residential burglaries in Bellevue and the greater Eastside, the press release said.

After getting the financial documents, the ringleader would use computers, digital cameras and imaging software, air brushes and laminating supplies to produce legitimate looking Washington Driver’s Licenses, the Bellevue Police reported.

The forged IDs and the victims’ real credit cards and washed checks would be used to make expensive purchases at stores and to cash large checks at local banks, the Bellevue Police reported. The ringleader and her associates would split the proceeds and the associates would also receive meth from the ringleader, according to the press release from the police department.

She and one of her associates  got involved in an ID theft and assault at an AT&T store in Kirkland on March 30, but fled the scene before law enforcement could arrest them, according to Bellevue Police.

The King County Prosecutor’s Office also assigned two deputy prosecutors to the case.

The ringleader and some of her crew were tracked down on April 25. The Bellevue Police Special Enforcement Team arrested the ringleader and three of her cohorts after a traffic stop in Lake Forest Park, according to the Bellevue Police Department. 

The ringleader was subsequently charged with 16 felony counts including ID Theft, Assault, Forgery, Financial Fraud, and Possession of Methamphetamine.

Armed with additional search warrants, the Special Enforcement Team searched two Bellevue residences and a Renton hotel where they discovered the ID theft factory as well as the charred remains of stolen mail and financial documents in a fireplace, according to the Bellevue Police Department.

Investigators found dozens of stolen personal and business checks were found along with counterfeit IDs and methamphetamine, the Bellevue police reported. A fifth suspect was arrested in Bellevue on May 1 and booked into King County Jail on three counts of ID theft second degree and one count of Possession of Stolen Property second degree.