State Rep. Casey bilked for 18K
Published on November 26th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - An identity thief who seemed to be using social security numbers and birth dates to specifically target men named Paul Casey living in Massachusetts, was nabbed over the weekend and arraigned at Quincy District Court on Monday morning.
According to published reports, David Faulcon, age 39, of Boston is being charged with identity fraud and assorted larceny charges.
Faulcon was reportedly using information ripped from the Registry of Motor Vehicles, and applying for credit cards at a large number of local businesses. According to Stoneham State Rep. and unwitting victim Paul Casey, the identity scofflaw had used his good name to obtain credit cards at Old Navy, the Bombay Company, Pier One and Walmart among others.
Casey and his wife began to notice the overflow of renegade credit cards at the end of October, and then were besieged with more than a dozen large bills over the next few days. According to Casey, approximately $18,000 worth of merchandise had been fraudulently purchased with the bogus credit cards.
At first, Casey thought that his public figure status might have made the Public Safety Chair a target, but he called the scheme much more "insidious" and "convoluted".
"It was a computer list which means it was a list that came from a professional organization," said Casey. "Which means it came from the registry in some form or fashion."
"This guy seemed to have the rundown and crib sheet on every single Paul Casey with a social security number, address and primary information," said Casey, who said that police uncovered a computer printout of Caseys in Faulcon's South End apartment.
According to reports, a team of Boston Police and State Troopers who make up the city's Major Case Unit, arrested Faulcon at his Boston residence on Friday, and found $3,900 in cash, a large amount of merchandise, and a list of RMV records for a slew of local Paul Caseys.
The arrest came after Boston Police spotted the suspect on a department store surveillance camera, and then matched the tape with a photo of Faulcon in the RMV database.
Casey is now pushing for legislation at the State level that would require a photograph be taken with the granting of quickie credit cards at stores like WalMart and Home Depot.
"It's so easy to just grab a digital camera and just say smile and put it on record," said Casey. "It would have facilitated catching this guy."
Boston Police investigators have to conduct interviews at 14 stores, according to Casey, before uncovering a surveillance tape with a vivid enough image of the suspect.
"At all these stores, the investigators are expending money and energy trying to find this guy, and having a picture would make it so much easier," said Casey. "It would help investigators tremendously."
According to Casey, he's already filled out close to 10 reports at the fraud departments at each individual store and is not through with the deluge of paperwork associated with identity theft.
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