A man suspected of using fake IDs to rack up more than $25,000 in fraudulent charges at Home Depot in San Rafael was arrested on suspicion of identity theft and burglary, officials said.
The arrest Thursday of Richard Earl Griffen, 42, of Vallejo capped a seven-month investigation by the Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force, officials said.
Authorities said the case began after Home Depot reported someone was making multiple credit card and check purchases from the San Rafael store. He was using checks from a Novato victim and the credit card accounts of victims from Tiburon, San Rafael and Pleasanton, officials said.
The man often made the orders by phone using the name that matched the accounts used for payment, and told the store that someone else would pick up the items, authorities said. He also sometimes requested the items be sent to a Richmond address.
Investigators posed as delivery people and found no one at the residence, according to the task force. However, investigators managed to identify Griffen through surveillance video and interviews with delivery company drivers and Home Depot clerks.
A counterfeit California driver s license and 10 suspected stolen prepaid credit cards were found with him at the time of his arrest in Richmond, officials said.
Griffen remained in custody Monday in the Marin County Jail with bail set at $300,000, said a spokesman from the Marin County District Attorney s Office.
Article source: http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_16964955?source=rss
Category: Identity Theft Watch
