Real Estate Scam of the Day: Fannie Mae Employee Involved in ID Theft Ring

Federal prosecutors announced that seven people, including a Fannie Mae employee, have been charged in a North Texas identity theft ring that illegally gained access to the personal information of 1,100 Fannie Mae customers.  Charges against the seven included bank fraud and aggravated identification theft, and was based on alleged involvement from 2009 through last year.[1]

Among the defendants is 40-year old Katrina Thomas of Garland, Texas, who worked as an underwriter for Fannie Mae.  She is accused of forwarding customer information to others who then used it to illegally access bank accounts.  It was not clear exactly how much money had been illegally seized in the scheme.  Authorities say Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase customers were also targeted.

The defendants used the ill-gotten funds to buy luxury goods and rent hotel rooms.  When one of the other defendants was taken into custody from a luxury Dallas hotel room he had rented with another person’s personal information, he had in his possession several fake IDs, counterfeit checks, and a computer containing a template for Texas Department of Public Safety Temporary Driver’s License, presumably to create the fake IDs.[2]  Unfortunately, stories like this show just how many different ways a person’s identity can be stolen.  Have you been the victim of identity theft?