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Addicts Funding Habit With White-Collar Crime

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1096/a08.html
Newshawk: chip

Pubdate: Mon, 11 Jul 2005
Source: Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright: 2005 The Oklahoma Publishing Co.
Contact: yourviews@oklahoman.com
Website: http://www.oklahoman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318
Author: Ty McMahan

ADDICTS FUNDING HABIT WITH WHITE-COLLAR CRIME

White-collar crime is becoming an addict's favored way to get cash for drugs or the supplies to make them, authorities say.

"It's easier to rob a man of $30,000 with his Social Security number than put a gun in his face," said Jeff Shelton, assistant agent in charge for the Oklahoma City field office of the Secret Service.

Shelton said about half of all crimes worked by his identity theft task force have a link to drugs.

Meth use and identity theft are a good match, he said.

People on meth can stay awake for days and have the focus to execute white-collar crimes.  They are willing to piece together sacks of shredded documents or dive through trash bins to search for personal information, Shelton said.

"The work is tedious in nature," said Peter Haddock, Oklahoma County assistant district attorney.  "If you're hyper and up for days and have time on your hands, you can get busy on the computer and do some damage."

Haddock said the district attorney's office has seen a dramatic increase in drug users funding their habit through white-collar crime.

Addicts steal checks and credit cards, apply for cards under fictitious names, make fake identification cards and steal personal information from victims to apply for credit, Haddock said.

Addicts often buy blank checks from office supply stores and print them to look like checks from reputable businesses.

Assistant District Attorney Martha McMurry said white-collar crime is a cheap and easy way to buy drugs and manufacturing supplies.

"There's quite a correlation between I.D.  theft and meth makers," McMurry said.  "It's one of the ways meth makers get money for materials.  It really lowers your overhead if you're not actually paying for the materials."

Since June 1, 2004, charges have been filed in 57 identity theft cases, 628 forgery cases, 117 false impersonation cases and 1,057 bogus check cases in Oklahoma County.

One victim is Jennifer Holtzclaw, whose wallet was stolen from her purse.

In less than a week, the woman who stole the wallet opened 14 new credit card accounts and used them to their limit.

The woman spent about $24,000 and wrecked Holtzclaw's credit.

"I'm trying to build my credit, and it's just frustrating when someone steals my I.D.  and lives my lifestyle," Holtzclaw said.

Haddock said merchants lose millions of dollars a year from bad checks.

"It's probably going to come to the point where writing a check is hard to do," Haddock said.  "The merchants just won't risk it."

Shelton said loosely knit groups of meth users and cooks gather regularly to swap recipes and new ways to profit from victims' personal information.  Most have become extremely computer proficient.

Shelton estimates 80 percent of the crimes investigated by the Secret Service task force involve computers.  Computers have become as common as video cassette recorders in American homes, and the software needed to forge documents is easy to use.

"Digital technology has a lot to do with white-collar crime," Shelton said.  "A fairly uneducated individual can operate this software."

The link between white-collar crime and drug users has the Secret Service working more often with drug authorities, like the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control.

Mark Woodward, the bureau's spokesman, said investigators see white-collar crime and drugs as a growing, two-headed monster.

"They'll steal and rob their own kids blind, so they'll have no qualms about stealing someone's checks to get drugs," Woodward said.  "Every day we see identity theft as a method to buy drugs."