NJ Man Accused of Stealing the Identities of 15 People

The New Jersey Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor has obtained a state grand jury indictment charging an Essex County man with stealing and trafficking identities of 15 people who had applied for credit at the used car dealership where he worked. State Attorney General Jeff Cheisa made the announcement today.

The indictment alleges that in September 2010, Stuart Simpson  distributed roughly 74 items of personal identifying information pertaining to 15 separate people, including, among other things, copies of driver’s licenses, applications for credit or credit reports containing personal identifying information.

An investigation has determined that the identity profiles corresponded to individuals who had applied for credit at the used–car dealership where Simpson worked.

“In today’s world, access to personal identifying information is all too frequently unfettered,” says Chiesa. “However, consumers need to be able to have confidence that when they apply for credit, that information won’t be mistreated. This defendant blatantly violated that confidence.”

An undercover investigation by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor found that Simpson tried to sell the identity profiles to a buyer in the parking lot of a restaurant in Union. The “buyer” was actually an undercover detective from the Division of Criminal Justice. Simpson was arrested on March 24, 2011 as a result of the alleged crime and was released on bail.