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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
May 15, 2008
INVESTIGATORS FOLLOWED WINDING TRAIL BEFORE FILING CHARGES IN IDENTITY THEFT CASE
Investigators found evidence in Kansas City, Kan., Lawrence, Kan., Lawton, Okla., and Purcell, Okla.
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Three people were charged with wire fraud Thursday in a criminal complaint filed by federal agents who described how they followed a winding paper trail of false names, addresses, Social Security numbers, credit cards and bank accounts.
William A. Morris, 32, Kansas City, Kan., Crystal L. Morris, 27, Kansas City, Kan., and Jeffrey L. Lickteig, 29, Kansas City, Kan., were charged with one count of wire fraud involving a total loss of more than $116,000.
The complaint describes how the investigation began Jan. 18, 2008, when the U.S. Secret Service received a report of a man in Lawton, Okla., who complained that someone had stolen his identity and used it to obtain a credit card and an auto loan.
Investigators determined that the man’s name had been used to obtain a MasterCard with a $10,000 limit, a checking account with the United Services Automobile Association Federal Savings Bank, and a consumer auto loan in the amount of $33,063.50 to purchase a 2006 Ford F-150.
Investigators followed a trail left by the online application for the auto loan to an Internet provider’s address belonging to a woman in Lawrence, Kan. By talking to the dealership in Purcell, Okla., where the truck was purchased investigators confirmed that the buyer had an Oklahoma driver’s license obtained by using the stolen identity. The name on the license belonged to the man whose identity was stolen, and the person in the photo William Morris.
Talking to the man whose identity was stolen, investigators learned that he recently had hired Morris and Lickteig to install satellite television in his home. They gave him a business card with the name Audio Visions Inc. The man also told investigators that when he tried to file his tax return, the Internal Revenue Service notified him that a return already had been filed in his name by someone using an address in Lawrence, Kan.
Investigators learned that the office space occupied by Audio Visions in Purcell, Okla., had been leased by Morris using a stolen identity. The manager of the property said Morris moved out of the office one day without notice.
On Feb. 27, 2008, investigators interviewed a man in Oklahoma City who told them he had worked for Morris at Audio Visions. The man said he became friends with Morris and Morris’ wife, Crystal Morris. The man said Morris paid him $300 a week to answer phones and obtain information from customers who wanted Dish Network TV service installed. Morris gave him a script in which he was to ask customers for full name, date of birth, Social Security number and address. The man said Morris had told him that if police ever asked any questions he should be ready to “box everything up” and burn it. He also said Morris showed him several driver’s licenses with Morris’ photo and other people’s names.
Investigators also learned that a Visa card issued in the name of the man whose identity was stolen was used to purchase more than $70,845 in merchandise including television sets and video game consoles from the Target store in Lawrence.
On May 7, 2008, investigators identified a duplex at 1007 Alma in Lawrence, Kan., where William Morris, Crystal Morris and Jeffrey Lickteig had lived before moving out without paying rent and leaving no forwarding address.
They interviewed the woman whose Internet provider address had been used to apply for the car loan. She had lived next door to the defendants. The woman said that she had installed wireless high speed Internet services while living in the duplex. She said the wireless router was not secured and it was possible for anyone who had a computer with a wireless adapter to use her Internet connection without her permission and without entering a password.
On May 7, 2008, investigators located the defendants at 442 Barnett in Kansas City, Kan., and arrested them.
The defendants are in custody in Wyandotte County. Detention hearings are set for May 20. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The U.S. Secret Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Morehead is prosecuting.
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