ID Theft Ring Busted

53 Arrested in Scheme Described as 'Frightening'

Tracy Kitten, Managing Editor


The U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey recently announced the arrests of 53 suspects charged with a sophisticated identity theft and fraud scheme -- one that allegedly targeted the identities of Asian immigrants.

Park Criminal Enterprise, based in Bergen County, N.J., and led by Sang-Hyun Park, is accused of buying Social Security numbers with a 568 prefix, which is typically issued to individuals from China who are employed in American territories, such as American Samoa, Guam and Saipan.

According to information released by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the scheme spans several states, where the suspects used Social Security numbers of Asian immigrants to get driver's licenses. They then used those numbers and licenses to open credit cards, bank accounts and take out loans. How the suspects were able to get their hands on the Social Security numbers is a bit unclear. Some may have been stolen, others may have been sold or given to brokers who then turned around and sold them to Sang-Hyun Park, the suspected ring leader behind the multimillion dollar scheme.

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