New front in war on ID theft

WHITE PLAINS - Most identity-theft cases involve someone using stolen information to purchase products, usually by credit card, and then keeping or selling the merchandise.

In what appears to be a new twist on the problem, a case unfolding in White Plains involves a Mount Vernon man suspected of using someone else's bank information to set himself up in business as a self-described "debt consolidator."
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James "Hollywood" Allen Jr., 47, is accused of using an 88-year-old White Plains woman's checking account to pay utility bills for "customers" who gave him 50 cents on the dollar for every debt he settled, police said. Allen paid the bills by telephone, it is alleged, because he was not required to prove he was authorized to draw money from the woman's account.

"This is not one of your more common ID-theft cases, but the bottom line is always the same," said Lt. Eric Fischer, commander of the White Plains police Detective Division. "You have to be vigilant about your financial information. If you notice anything suspicious, report it immediately. We can't stress that enough."

From May to November 2007, Allen is alleged to have paid between $250,000 and $300,000 worth of cable TV, utility, insurance and credit card bills, using the woman's checking account. In one instance, it is alleged, Allen received $3,000 for paying off a woman's $6,000 credit-card debt.

The scheme came to light in November, when the victim's daughter called police after discovering that dozens of electronic fund transfers had been made on her mother's North Fork Bank checking account. In an investigation that took weeks, White Plains police Detective Brian Connolly got subpoenas for each debt that was paid and began tracking down the account holders. In each case, the account holder identified Allen as the man who paid their bills.

Allen and 23 of his "customers" have been arrested. Allen is charged with counts of first-degree identity theft and second-degree grand larceny, both felonies. The others are all charged with identity theft or grand larceny or both. All are due in White Plains City Court on May 21.

Police are still trying to determine how the victim's account information was obtained.

"I'm not sure what we can do to prevent identity theft of this kind," said Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, D-Greenburgh, a member of the Assembly's Banking Committee. "You could require people to enter a PIN number when they pay bills by phone, but those numbers will get stolen, too. Identity theft is a complex problem, and we're very interested in finding ways to prevent it."

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