Halifax Regional Police have arrested a man they accuse of running a major identity theft operation targeting banks and financial institutions.
Jonathan David DeYoung, 26, was arrested Friday at his home on Gladstone Street in Halifax.
He faces 108 charges, including making false documents and fraudulently personating another person with intent to gain advantages and possession of identity information for fraudulent purpose, in what police call a “highly sophisticated” operation.
Det.-Const. Dana Drover of HRP said the bogus health cards, social insurance cards and driver’s licences seized used apparently real names and addresses with another person’s photo.
The cards were allegedly made with blank cardstock and turned into ID with computers, printers, a scanner and other readily available devices.
Drover said the forged Ontario government security holograms were key to making the IDs convincing.
“With identity fraud, you lay the foundation to commit a future fraud,” Drover told reporters yesterday.
The IDs could be used to open bank accounts, borrow money or get credit cards.
The victims of the fraud wouldn’t have known about it until a credit problem came to their attention.
Police don’t know if fraudulent accounts had been opened but are alerting the affected people and financial institutions. Drover advised people to shred sensitive documents, lest they fall into the hands of a fraudster.
