Out-Law News 1 min. read

Guilty plea for massive identity theft


A former employee of a credit software company has pled guilty in what is reported to be the biggest identity theft case in US history, involving the credit reports of over 30,000 people and an estimated loss of $50 million, according to media reports.

The main suspect, 35-year old Philip Cumming, was an employee of Teledata Communications (TCI), the maker of credit report accessing software, from mid-1999 to March 2000, during which time he allegedly obtained client passwords and codes that enabled him to download personal credit reports.

In the three-year period over which the fraud operated, Cummings allegedly downloaded tens of thousands of credit reports from all major credit reporting agencies and then sold them, for $60 each, to a ring of 20 people in the Bronx and Brooklyn.

These fraudsters then used the stolen information to take over victims' identities, request credit cards, transfer funds from bank accounts and make fraudulent purchases, resulting in a massive loss to victims. Initial estimates put the figure at over $2.7 million, but authorities now believe that more than $50 million was stolen.

The scam was revealed in February 2002, when Ford Motor Credit discovered it was being billed for thousands of credit reports it never ordered. After an investigation, Cummings was arrested and charged with being a member of a ring of identity thieves.

He was also accused of conspiring with another man, Linus Baptiste of New Rochelle, New York, to sell the stolen reports. Baptiste pled guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges last year, according to reports, while another fraudster, Hakeen Muhammad, pled guilty to fraud charges.

Three other men have also been charged.

On Tuesday Cummings pled guilty to wire fraud, conspiracy and fraud. He faces a maximum sentence of 14 years although, given that he suffers from serious heart problems, it is likely that the sentence will be lighter.

Sentencing is set for 11th January.

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