FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 2010
CONTACT:
ADA Brian Buckelew, DA Harris’ Office (415) 553-1383
Erica Derryck, DA Harris’ Office (415) 553-1167
IDENTITY THIEF CHARGED WITH ELEVEN FELONIES FOR MOBILE ID SCAM
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – District Attorney Kamala D. Harris announced today that Michael Scott Lewis, 30, was charged with 11 felony and 4 misdemeanor counts of identity theft, possession of personal identifying information, endangering persons while evading the police and other related charges.
“This case is another great example of the continued unified efforts of the U.S. Secret Service, the San Francisco Police Department and the District Attorney's Office in combating financial crimes,” said Jean Mitchell, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service. “Prosecutors from the District Attorney's Office work with agents from my office on a daily basis to combat financial crimes and identity theft crimes that plague the Bay Area.”
“Having your identity stolen is a financial nightmare," said District Attorney Kamala D. Harris. “It can take years for victims to recover financially. I thank the San Francisco Police Department, the United States Secret Service, and Assistant District Attorney Michael Sullivan for their hard work in bringing this identity thief to justice."
The following facts are based on police reports, the affidavit in support of arrest and statements made at the bail hearing. On October 2, 2009, the police were called to the Stanford Court Hotel on California Street after the hotel staff became suspicious of Mr. Lewis who was checked into the hotel under a different name. According to the police report, Mr. Lewis was already exiting the hotel on the way to his car when the police approached him and attempted to detain him. Lewis allegedly ignored the officers verbal requests and ran to his car. He quickly started the car and sped down Powell Street through rush hour traffic. It is also alleged that Lewis ran at least one red light, drove on the wrong side Powell at a high rate of speed in an attempt to evade police and almost hit a trolley car. The pursuing officers called off the car chase for public safety reasons, but other officers were able to arrest Lewis once he stopped the vehicle. Evidence of identity theft was allegedly recovered after the arrest of Lewis, including a laptop computer, a credit card skimmer and re-encoder, credit card embossing machine and a list of people’s names with their corresponding credit card numbers.
Inspector Yee of the SFPD Economic Crimes division working together with a Special Agent of the US Secret Service conducted the investigation. They worked with a dedicated identity theft prosecutor to obtain a search warrant for the laptop computer and other electronic evidence. A computer forensic examiner from the Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force in San Francisco conducted the search of the computer and other electronic evidence which resulted in recovering more than 1,000 credit card numbers and corresponding account holder names.
Charges
Lewis is charged with 530.5(a) [Identity Theft], 529.2 [False Personation], 459-2 [Burglary in the Second Degree], 484f(a) [Forgery of Access Cards], 484i(b) [Modification of Access Cards with Intent to Defraud], 484i(c) [Possession of Credit Card Manufacturing Equipment], 530.5(c)(3) [Possession of 10 or more persons Personal Identifying Information with Intent to Defraud], and 484e(d) [Theft of Access Card Account Information] all felony violation of the California Penal Code.
Lewis was charged with 2800.2 [Driving in Willful or Wanton Disregard for Safety of Persons While Fleeing from Pursuing Police] a felony and 2800.1 [Flight from Pursuing Police Officer] a misdemeanor, violations of the California Vehicle Code.
Lewis was also charged with violations of 502.6(a) [Possession of a Skimming Device with Intent to Defraud], 502.6(b) [Possession of a Credit Card Reencoder with Intent to Defraud] and 530.5(c)(1) [Possession of Personal Identifying Information with Intent to Defraud] misdemeanor violations of the California Penal Code.
Court Information
Lewis was arraigned this morning in Department 10 of the San Francisco Superior Court before the Honorable Judge Donald S. Mitchell. Bail was set at $750,000. The next court date is June 2, 2010 in department 10 for a pre-hearing conference.
The maximum statutory penalty for each felony count is three years in state prison; one year in county jail is the maximum for each misdemeanor count. The arrest of Mr. Lewis is the result of work by SFPD patrol officers, Inspector Julie Yee of the SFPD Economic Crimes Unit and Special Agents of the United States Secret Service – San Francisco Field Office. Michael Sullivan is the Assistant District Attorney prosecuting the case.
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