Low Tech "Manilla Envelope Gang" Implicated In ID Theft

"A car burglary led investigators to a meticulously organized identity-theft and burglary ring with at least 100 victims, sheriff's deputies said yesterday.

"Deputies seized hundreds of stolen items and arrested three men and one woman, all from Lakeside.

"The investigation began Jan. 30 after a woman's purse was stolen from a car near a Chinese restaurant in Santee.

"Investigators traced one of the stolen credit cards to a 29-year-old woman and went to her home Thursday to arrest her. She wasn't home, but her boyfriend, 27, was there. A records check revealed he was a parolee at large, and deputies took him into custody, sheriff's Sgt. Tom Poulin said.

"The woman arrived in a stolen car and was arrested, he said.

"Inside her home, detectives found a filing system of identity theft, Poulin said. `She would set up files on individuals for whatever info was stolen from them, manila-envelope files,` Poulin said, adding that she used that information to make purchases."

Source: SignOnSanDiego...