Nekia Ishawn Hunter, 28; Lavon Caldwell, 25; and Faye Marie Jones, 51, Baltimore, Maryland, were indicted for conspiring to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft arising from a scheme to use stolen personal identity information to fraudulently purchase merchandise and cars.

According to the 11-count indictment, from August to December 2006, the defendants purchased credit reports stolen from a Baltimore mortgage company containing the names, social security numbers and other personal identification information of persons who had applied for mortgages. Hunter allegedly produced fraudulent driver’s licenses in the names of the individuals on the credit reports, placed photos of her conspirators on the fraudulent driver’s licenses, and then gave the driver’s licenses to her conspirators to use to fraudulently procure credit accounts from banks and retail stores to purchase merchandise and cars. The banks and stores were located throughout the greater Baltimore and Washington D.C. areas. The defendants accompanied one another to the retail stores to load the purchased goods into a truck and act as look-outs. They sold the merchandise for cash and split the proceeds. The indictment further alleges that Caldwell and his conspirators fraudulently used two of the victims’ identities to finance the purchase of a Mercedes Benz and BMW and the lease of a BMW from Baltimore car dealerships. The scheme involved $504,350 worth of merchandise and vehicles.