ST. PAUL, Minn. – One of the leaders of a multi-state identity theft ring pleaded guilty yesterday to bank fraud for his role in the scheme that covered more than a dozen states and earned the suspects at least $2 million.
Kevin Martin, 45, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft for his role in the ring that victimized hundreds of people, along with stores, credit unions and banks, from 2006 through December 2011.
Martin admitted that he and others used stolen driver's license and bank account numbers from hundreds of individuals to create counterfeit checks and fraudulent identification documents. They would steal financial information and identities from cars, businesses, trash cans and mail boxes, and obtained some information from credit union and bank employees.
The checks were drawn on Affinity Plus CU, Healtheast Employees CU, Unity One CU, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, American Bank of St. Paul and Western Bank among others, in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota and Illinois.
Martin admitted that the checks were passed at stores to buy expensive merchandise that was subsequently returned for cash. The counterfeit checks were also passed at credit unions and banks, where Martin and the others deposited the checks into victims' accounts and then made withdrawals from those same accounts..
Ten other individuals have also been convicted for their roles in the fraud.
