Deepa Bharath
NEWPORT BEACH -- Police have arrested a 25-year-old man believed to be
the kingpin of a fraud ring that officials say is responsible for
stealing more than $1 million through a counterfeit check scam.
Newport Beach police arrested David Vincent on Sept. 25 after they
were tipped off by a local bank that refused to cash the counterfeit
checks and noted Vincent's vehicle license plate number, Det. Evan Sailor
said. The man and fraud ring are also wanted by the Secret Service,
Sailor said Tuesday.
Vincent had opened multiple bank accounts at three local banks -- US
Bank, Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual -- between Aug. 22 and 24, Sailor
said.
Vincent then used a computer software program to print counterfeit
checks he made out to himself and deposited in those bank accounts, he
added.
"He wrote the checks in the name of Anchor General Insurance agency of
San Diego," he said. "Then he withdrew money from those bank accounts."
Sailor said Vincent withdrew up to $100,000 over a period of two weeks
in Newport Beach and that police officials have recovered $82,000 from
him so far.
Vincent's scheme also extended to credit card fraud.
"He had gone into a Web site called roots.com, where he obtained
people's birth certificates," Sailor said, explaining Vincent's mode of
operation.
"He printed out the certificates and went to the Department of Motor
Vehicles in Arizona and Indiana, and used those IDs to purchase credit
cards."
Vincent is a resident of Colorado but has been on the move for a long
time and operates out of a laptop computer, Sailor said. He had rented a
room in Anaheim from 41-year-old Faranaz Kiasi, who was also arrested on
suspicion of fraud after police found fake credit cards in his
possession.
Chung Dao, who was also arrested on a similar charge, is believed to
be Vincent's associate. No further information on Dao was available,
Sailor said.
Newport Beach police detectives deal with several similar crimes every
year, but one of such breadth and magnitude is rare, Sailor said.
"In crimes that we see, the maximum loss is between $1,000 and
$5,000," he said. "But this is a nationwide scam."
Sailor said Newport Beach will probably turn over the case to the
Secret Service.
"We have a lot of evidence to go through here," he said. "We're hoping
the Secret Service takes it over because [this crime] crosses state
borders."
