Houston Police Bust Counterfeit Check, ID Ring

If you ever find yourself hating your driver’s license picture, take comfort in knowing that at the very least, it’s you in the photograph. Police in Houston believe hundreds of people across the country could be victims of a huge identity theft ring trafficking in false licenses and counterfeit checks, KTRK-TV reports.

Four suspects were arrested last week in connection with one of the most sophisticated identity theft rings the Houston Police Department (HPD) has seen in at least three years. The investigating officer estimated that “hundreds of thousands of dollars” had been stolen from 457 people and 83 businesses reaching across 25 states, The Houston Chronicle reported.

The alleged ringleader, Robert Lyles, 65, appeared to be an ordinary businessman operating out of a rented office space. Yet he was allegedly using the information on stolen personal checks, and driver’s license numbers found on PublicData.com, combined with a client’s real photograph to create fake IDs and counterfeit checks, Robert Manzo of the HPD said in The Houston Press.

Lyles was “definitely surprised” when police showed up, HPD financial crimes unit Sgt. Tom Wood told The Chronicle. Police recovered hundreds of personal and business checks, as well as hundreds of photos of people who sought to buy Lyles’ manufactured identities, according to media reports.

The suspects were charging between “$200 and $500 for a counterfeit driver’s license and a stack of checks,” according to a KIAH-TV report that quoted Manzo.

Three alleged accomplices were also arrested: Derald Desso, 41, William Jackson, 45, and Evelyn Dixon, 46. The Chronicle reported a fifth suspect, Bobby Lee Harris, 31, was arrested in June living in a million-dollar home furnished with electronics and furniture purchased using documents Lyles provided.

Police also hope to identify the nearly 200 people found in passport-size photos seized from Lyles’ office, Manzo said. “Our goal is to identify as many of these individuals as we possibly can,” he told KTRK. It helps that the suspects kept “detailed records” of all business transactions, Manzo said in the KIAH-TV report.

Manzo’s enthusiasm for the bust was tempered by his awareness of the overall scope of identity theft. He told The Houston Press, “We can shut one [counterfeiting outfit] down today, and another one will re-open, or the same people will open up down the street the next day.”