Prison inmates charged in alleged identity theft scheme
SOUTH BEND -- Three Indiana State Prison inmates and 17 other people have been charged in an alleged identity theft scheme that targeted elderly widows and widowers, authorities said Monday.\nU.S. Attorney Joseph S. Van Bokkelen and St. Joseph County Prosecutor Michael Dvorak announced the filing of federal and state identity theft charges against the 20 suspects.\nThe scam involved telephone calls in which the victims were told they would receive help in re-establishing credit upon the death of their spouse, authorities said. The victims provided credit and other information that was then used to add others as authorized users on their credit cards.\n"They had very good credit, so it is easy to escalate getting credit limits exceeding $20,000," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Toi Houston. "Then these individuals, after they got their initial cash advances from $2,500 to $10,000, would then give the credit card to the people they recruited to go to retail establishments and within a three-day period, they would rack up close to $5,000 in retail purchases."\nPostal authorities said about 30 people and 13 credit card companies were victimized, with losses totaling about $115,000. Most of the victims were from Indiana or Illinois, but some victims were also from Ohio, Iowa, Kentucky, Florida, California and New York.\nAmong those charged were Telly Gant, 29, Robert Smith, 30, and Melvin Fagan, 34, all inmates of the Michigan City prison between January 2002 and June 2003, when the scam allegedly operated.\nAuthorities say they recruited others outside the prison to assist in the scheme.
Inmate walks away from federal prison camp in Terre Haute
TERRE HAUTE -- An inmate remained at large Monday after walking away from federal prison camp for nonviolent inmates, authorities said Monday.\nJuan Mendiola, 27, was being held in a minimum-security section of the U.S. Penitentiary.\nHis absence was first detected at a routine count Saturday night, prison spokesman Chris Nickrenz said.\nMendiola was serving an 11-year sentence for conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine. He was sentenced in November 2003 in the Southern District of Indiana.\nMendiola was described as a white male with brown eyes and brown hair. He is 5-feet-6 and weighs about 160 pounds.
