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Prolific identity thief accused of targeting inmates
A repeat fraudster is back behind bars, and his latest victims are other inmates.
Steven Patrick Smiley has served time in federal prison for mail and bank fraud. Now, he’s accused of targeting prisoners by using their identities.
"He is apparently a very skilled identity thief, and he is good at acquiring other people's information and then using it to turn into identity documents that he can use," said Todd Lawson, a prosecutor with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Court documents claim Smiley has a specific target: inmates who are facing long-term prison sentences.
"Twelve driver's licenses seized, appear to be duplicates that were obtained by the defendant after the inmate has gone into custody," Lawson said.
Investigators say Smiley opened multiple credit cards, with multiple banks and corporations like Best Buy, under the names of state and federal prisoners. He then allegedly used these lines of credit to launder money – an operation totaling a million dollars.
"If he is released, there are other people we do not know about and other documents we have not seized that are available to him," Lawson said.
In a digital age, the President and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, Eva Velasquez, is reminding people to stay vigilant.
"People don’t realize how much information is available and how critical that information is when it gets in the wrong hands," Velasquez said.
You can get ahead of it, though.
"If their credit was frozen, it would have been almost impossible for these thieves to open up new credit cards at retail establishments," Velasquez said.
In this case, the state is calling Smiley a flight risk, as he has done this before. A 2006 conviction for mail fraud in Illinois and a 2009 conviction for bank fraud in Utah before serving federal prison time in Arizona.
"Given his prolific skills as an identity thief and access to this pool of money, the state is requesting an $800,000 secure bond," Lawson said.
The judge says Smiley has a history of fleeing to Mexico. His passport and Mexican visa were seized.
The judge ordered Smiley to a $100,000 cash bond. If he bonds out, he will have to wear an ankle monitor.