WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2005
D.A. BROWN: ASTORIA MAN SENTENCED TO
3-6 YEARS IN PRISON FOR $225,000 IDENTITY THEFT SCHEME
Stole Identities of Six Doctors and NYC High School Teacher
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that an Astoria resident who stole $225,000 through the theft of the personal identity information of at least six doctors and a high school teacher to obtain credit has been sentenced to three to six years in prison.
District Attorney Brown said, “Identity theft is a serious and growing problem that destroys the credit rating and reputation of its victims. In this case, the victims did not learn that they had been scammed until finance companies went after them for being delinquent in making payments. For the next several years, the defendant will be residing in prison under his own name as he is held accountable for his wrongdoing -- and the only credit that he will receive is time off for good behavior.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Paul Bauers, 60, of 23-22 30th Road in Astoria, Queens, self-employed. Bauers pleaded guilty on October 7, 2005 to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice James P. Griffin.
According to District Attorney Brown, the defendant between June 1, 2002 and January 31, 2005, stole the identities of three doctors and a New York City high school teacher -- the previous tenant of his Astoria apartment – and forged their names on loan and credit card applications. In carrying out his scheme, the defendant altered drivers’ licenses placing the victims’ personal information and his photo on them, set up fake businesses with forged certificates and obtained mail box rentals in the victims’ names without their knowledge.
The defendant then set up a bogus company named Tech Medical Sales – which was located in his Astoria apartment and purported to sell high end medical equipment – and submitted forged applications for financing to various lending institutions for the purported purchase of expensive medical equipment, including a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine. As a result of his deception, the defendant obtained loans totaling over $220,000.
Finally, as part of his scheme, the defendant submitted forged applications for credit cards in the name of the former tenant of his apartment and ran up charges on the credit cards exceeding $5,000.
District Attorney Brown said the investigation that led to the defendant’s arrest began in 2004 after the finance companies contacted some of the doctors for non-payment and the doctors informed the finance companies that they had not purchased any equipment from Tech Medical Sales, had not received monies from the finance companies to pay for any equipment and had not given permission to anyone to do so on their behalf. The finance companies and doctors then contacted law enforcement.
In carrying out his scheme, the District Attorney said, for example, that the defendant:
▸ In March 2004, using the personal identity information of Dr. Michael Glantz of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Department of Neurology, Worcester, Massachusetts, submitted an application to HPSC, a financing company in Boston, for financing of $97,000 for the purported purchase of an MRI machine. The loan application contained the victim’s name, date of birth and Social Security number along with a forged driver’s license that contained the physician’s personal identity information and the defendant’s photograph and a non-existent White Plains address.
The defendant also set up a rental mailbox in Mamaroneck in his name and a fake business called Integrated Medical Systems. The finance company approved the application and mailed a check to Tech Med Sales at the defendant’s Astoria apartment address;
▸ In December 2003, using the personal identity information of Dr. Luis Glodowski, a cardiologist, of Forest Hills, Queens, submitted an application to HPSC, a financing company in Boston, for financing of $91,600 for the purported purchase of medical equipment -- bone density unit, stress test unit, examination table and attachments. The loan application contained the physician’s name, date of birth and Social Security number and a driver’s license with the physician’s personal information and the defendant’s photograph. The defendant also set up a rental mailbox in Forest Hills in his name and a fake business called Empire Medical. The finance company approved the application and mailed a check to Tech Med Sales at the defendant’s Astoria apartment address;
▸ In June 2002, using the personal identity information of Dr. David Guha, a general practitioner/internist in Elmhurst, Queens, submitted an application to American Express Business Financing, a financing company in Houston, Texas, for financing of $32,000 for the purported purchase of medical equipment – an Ultrasound Unit and attachments. The defendant forged business certificates and other documents in Dr. Guha’s name. The finance company approved the application and mailed a check to Tech Med Sales at the defendant’s Astoria apartment address; and
▸ In July 2004, applied for credit cards in the name of Gerald France, a New York City public high school teacher, who was the previous tenant of the defendant’s Astoria apartment. The defendant obtained credit card offers by mail that were addressed to the victim, who had moved out, obtained a credit card from MBNA and used it to charge over $5,000 in goods and services.
The investigation was conducted by the Queens District Attorney’s Office’s Economic Crimes Bureau and United States Postal Inspection Service Postal Inspector Yseult Belfort under the supervision of Team Leader Alex Malaiko under the overall supervision of Assistant Inspector in Charge Randy Miskanic and Inspector in Charge NY Division Ron Walker. Detective Daniel Lewis of the 114th Precinct Detective Squad under the supervision of Lieutenant Stephen Borchers and with the assistance of Detective Joseph Bey of the NYPD’s 108th Precinct, and the overall supervision of Chief of Detectives George F. Brown.
Assistant District Attorney Jason P. Garelick, with the assistance of Investigative Auditor Phylesia A. Lang of the District Attorney’s Economic Crimes Bureau, prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Gregory C. Pavlides, Bureau Chief, and Diane M. Peress, Deputy Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.