Computerworld - A former help desk employee at Teledata Communications Inc. pleaded guilty yesterday in a massive scheme to steal the identities of up to 30,000 people, according to U.S. Attorney David Kelley.
Teledata provides banks and other entities with computerized access to consumer credit reports from the three commercial credit history bureaus -- Equifax Inc., Experian Information Solutions Inc. and Trans Union LLC.
Cartersville, Ga., resident Philip Cummings, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, one count of wire fraud and one count of fraud in connection with the case, Kelley said in a statement. Cummings had been scheduled to go on trial Nov. 3.
The lead defendant in the largest identity theft case known to U.S. authorities, Cummings faces a combined maximum sentence of 50 years in prison, according to Kelley. As part of his guilty plea, Cummings has agreed to forfeit any proceeds of the scheme, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 11.
According to the indictment, as a help desk worker at Hauppauge, N.Y.-based Teledata, Cummings had access to confidential passwords and subscriber codes of Teledata customers who used the company's software to download consumer credit histories from the credit bureaus for legitimate business needs.
From early 2000 through October 2002, Cummings and accused co-conspirator Linus Baptiste accessed the credit bureaus and downloaded more than 30,000 consumer credit reports, authorities said.
The indictment alleged that Baptiste then gave the stolen credit reports to a number of people, including co-defendant Eniete Ukpong, who is accused of using them to obtain, among other things, credit cards in the names of the various individuals listed in the reports.
The trio would then allegedly use the credit cards to purchase merchandise, such as computers and electronic equipment, which was then resold to others, including co-defendant Ahmet Ulutas, Kelley said.
Ukpong and Ulutas are scheduled to go to trial on Nov. 3.
Kelley said the investigation is continuing.
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