Police: DeKalb man stole IDs of 10,000 people

A DeKalb County man has been arrested and charged with stealing the identities of up to 10,000 people and filing fraudulent tax returns that cost the government hundreds of thousands of dollars, Channel 2 Action News reported.

Clyde Chavo allegedly ran the scam out of a house in an upscale neighborhood off North Druid Hills Road. He surrendered at DeKalb County Magistrate Court on Wednesday, was charged with five counts of identity theft/fraud and was released on $50,000 bond Thursday, according to DeKalb jail records. Additional charges are possible.

Neighbors said they became suspicious over an unusual amount of traffic at the man's home.

“There were different cars going in and out,” resident Aaron Linzer told Channel 2. “I’m surprised about that in this neighborhood, because it’s just a good neighborhood.”

Chavo’s landlord alerted authorities after he spotted big stacks of mail that didn’t belong to the man.

Investigators said the 39-year-old Chavo used real people’s identities to create fake businesses and filed as many as 10,000 bogus tax returns. Police searched the home in recent weeks and said they found personal information for thousands of victims.