BALTIMORE — The Navy and local authorities are investigating an identify theft ring accused of obtaining fake driver’s licenses and stealing patient records from a medical testing company.
Five persons have been arrested, including a Baltimore man who was an employee of Teterboro, N.J.-based Quest Diagnostics. They are accused of using the victims’ names, Social Security numbers and other personal information to obtain credit at stores and car dealerships.
Local authorities have linked the ring to six civilian victims, all of whom were patients at Quest in the past six months, court records show. One of the victims, Edward Smith of Frederick County, called police after an insurance company notified him that someone had bought a $42,100 Cadillac Escalade in his name with his Social Security number.
The investigation was continuing and detectives could find additional victims, said Bill Toohey, a spokesman with the Baltimore County Police Department.
The Navy is looking into the theft of personal information from about 20 officers on the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which is based in Norfolk and was sent in January to the Persian Gulf.
The suspects obtained fake Virginia and D.C. driver’s licenses in the officers’ names, court records show.
The civilians’ identities were stolen from their Quest records, but it is not clear where the Navy officers’ information was obtained.
After an employee probing credit accounts at a Target store in Baltimore County contacted police in November, a detective found the accounts were fraudulently set up using fake Virginia and D.C. driver’s licenses. An investigation found that the victims’ names were mainly those of officers assigned to the George Washington.
Beginning in June, cars and motorbikes were being bought by people using the officers’ names and giving addresses in Baltimore, court records show.
Quest has fired the accused employee, Darren Rogers, 21, company spokeswoman Jennifer Somers said.
The company, which describes itself as the nation’s largest provider of lab testing, screens blood and urine specimens. It has 37,000 employees nationwide.
Baltimore County police started investigating several months ago when stores started reporting suspicious purchases.
Authorities arrested four Baltimore men this month after an off-duty police officer working as a security guard at a Home Depot store in Baltimore saw them try to buy about $10,000 worth of goods.
“While waiting for credit clearance, they suddenly just took off, and this made the officer very suspicious,” Mr. Toohey said.
The men attempted to leave in a red car and a U-Haul, but police caught up with them. The red Nissan 350Z, which was purchased for $50,900 using the fraudulently obtained name of a Quest patient, contained medical records from two Quest patients.
Charles Pineiro, 24; Derrick Faulcon, 22; Kevin Mosely, 34; and Dominic Watkins, 19, were charged with attempted felony theft. Further investigation led police to Mr. Rogers, who was arrested Friday. He was charged with five counts of identity theft.
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