Senoia police investigators responding to an incident involving debit card information stolen from a Senoia victim arrested a Stone Mountain man who admitted using stolen information from multiple victims to open debit and credit card accounts.
Kwame Gordon, 34, was charged on June 17 with one count of identity theft, said Senoia Inv. Jason Ercole, adding that additional charges and arrests are expected.
“Back in May of this year, the Senoia Police Dept. opened an investigation when a Senoia resident claimed that an unknown person had used her debit card information to make a purchase at Walmart in Lithonia,” Ercole said. “Investigators obtained video footage of the fraudulent transaction from Walmart investigators. The video showed a male suspect using the victim’s cloned debit card information to make said purchase. The identity of the suspect was unknown at the time, but investigators discovered that he also used his fiance’s EBT (state electronic benefit transfer) card just prior to using the victim’s cloned debit card.”
Ercole said investigators were able to identify the owner of the EBT card. Further investigation revealed the identity of the suspect. It was discovered that the two lived together at a home in Stone Mountain, Ercole added.
Investigators from the Senoia Police Dept. and the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office traveled to Stone Mountain and obtained a search warrant for the suspects’ home. Investigators from the DeKalb County Police Dept. assisted with the service of the search warrant, said Ercole.
“During the search, investigators found numerous Freddie Mac Home Loan Applications along with several debit and credit cards in other people’s names,” said Ercole. “During the search, Gordon admitted to investigators that he was involved in a scheme where he would be supplied with the identity information of others and would use that information to open debit and credit card accounts in those names.”
Gordon was arrested and transported to the Coweta County Jail where he was booked on one count of identity theft. He has since made his $7,000 bond, said Ercole.
Ercole said investigators from the Senoia Police Dept. were able to connect the loan applications and credit cards to identity theft victims as far away as Connecticut and California. One was a local woman from Cartersville. Because of the multi-jurisdictional issues in the case, investigators from the Senoia Police Dept. requested the assistance of the U.S. Secret Service which has agreed to help.
Ercole said the investigation is ongoing and more charges and arrests are expected in the future.
