Woman accused of stealing $20K in ID theft

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Roswell woman faces several counts of identity fraud after she allegedly opened phony bank accounts in others' names. And it was the victims who helped police track her down.

Five employees of an Alpharetta law firm used social media to help track down the woman, who was arrested Tuesday and booked into the Fulton County Jail. Madison Schmidt, 31, was released from jail Thursday after posting $10,000 bond.

After someone swiped nearly $7,000 from his bank account, attorney Glenn Bobe told Channel 2 Action News that he learned others in his firm were also victims of thefts. The five were out nearly $20,000, Bobe said.

But when he found out the same woman was responsible for opening bank accounts for all five victims, Bobe went to work finding out who she was, he said.

"I went to the Internet and started Google-ing the person's name," Bobe said.

He found plenty of information online about the suspect, and his secretary even "Friended" her on Facebook, Bobe said. After that, Bobe said he knew the suspect's boyfriend's name, and used the Internet to research him, too.

"We knew we were paying her accounts and she was taking money out of our accounts," Bobe said.

Bobe turned over his findings to police in north Fulton County, and Schmidt was arrested. Investigators believe the suspect may have gotten the personal information after a storage unit rented by the law firm was burglarized.