Two Fulton County men were arrested Wednesday in connection with an identity theft ring that had as many as 8,000 victims across the nation.
The two men -- Robert A. Smith, 46, of Atlanta, and Robert A. Hill, 49, of Roswell -- allegedly used fraudulent store credit cards to obtain high-dollar merchandise and resell it on eBay.
Cherokee County Sheriff's investigators coordinated with the Secret Service to search and seize a 1999 Lexus, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and more than $91,000 in cash associated with the identity theft scheme.
Investigators believe Hill has been scamming retailers for more than 15 years with $9 million in losses to various victims.
The investigation began in February 2010 when a resident of Cherokee County reported several fraudulent credit card accounts had been opened using his name. By the time it was over, detectives realized over 8,000 identities from a financial institution had been compromised.
The suspects were allegedly obtaining phony driver’s licenses under other peoples' names and using the IDs to apply for credit in stores like Best Buy, Target, Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Lowes. The crooks then purchased high-dollar items with the store accounts and brought them to Hill, who sold them on eBay at prices just slightly below retail value so as not to draw too much attention, said Lt. Jay Baker, spokesman for the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office.
Authorities searched a storage unit rented to Hill on Wednesday and located a trove of new merchandise including iPads, iPods, golf clubs, cameras and global positioning systems. They also seized $45,000 in cash from Hill's home and $46,000 from his bank account.
Investigators aren't identifying the financial institution at this time because doing so could jeopardize future arrests, said Baker, who added that they expect to charge several more individuals tied to the ring.
So far, 10 victims have been identified in Cherokee County, but detectives say there were many more victims all over the country.
"Anyone who has received bills from big box stores that they didn't apply for, we certainly want them to report that to their local authorities," Howard said.
Hill is charged with conspiracy to commit retail property fencing and racketeering. He is out of jail on $110,400 bond.
Smith is charged with five counts of identity fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit identity fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit retail property fencing and racketeering. He remains in custody with no bond.
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