Deerfield Detectives Dethrone Phony Carpet King

DEERFIELD, IL — More than 18 months after police learned of an fraud scheme involving a fake carpeting business, a convicted identity thief identified by Deerfield detectives has been charged with four felony counts.

Matthew T. Maciejewski, 35, of the 6500 block of West Montrose Avenue in Chicago's Portage Park neighborhood, has been charged with two counts of identity theft and two counts of credit card fraud in connection with an investigation that began in April 2017, according to police reports.

That month, a Deerfield resident contacted police to report someone had opened several fraudulent accounts in his name using the fake business name of "Carpet Kings."

"This guy knows you," a bank representative told the resident, who was himself in the carpet business, explaining the thief had all of his personal information.

Over the next several weeks, the resident's identity was used in various places. The resident was unable to stop the fraudulent cards from being used because someone had set up PINs and security questions with every major credit reporting bureau.

Detectives discovered at least five fraudulent cards opened up during the investigation.

According to police, Maciejewski used the same email address for his Best Buy rewards card as was used for the fake Carpet Kings business, purchasing four Mac laptops than $13,000 in his name after a first transaction in another person's name was denied.

Investigators traced the transactions and retrieved video from some of the businesses. In one case, the video shows a man police believe to be Maciejewski swapped credit cards after a clerk checked his identification. In another, a clerk remembered him clearly because she was "so happy she sold so many items to him so quickly" and was able to identity Maciejewski in a lineup.

Police said Maciejewski added a name to his mailbox a few weeks before the thefts. A search their social media profiles revealed the associate had listed his occupation as a carpet layer in an old arrest form. The associate had previous arrests for DUI and assault and also shared an old address with Maciejewski.

A federal postal inspector assisting with the investigation told police Maciejewski had a previous federal conviction for identity theft. Records from the Illinois Department of Corrections show he was sentenced to one count of identity theft out of Cook County in 2010 and served a one-year sentence.

Detectives also learned of more than $160,000 in falsified fraudulent claims by an associate of Maciejewski. Police first thought he might be a victim of identity theft, but it turned out the man had admitted to Bank of America that he had been involved in a scheme to defraud because he owed money to other parties involved. Those false claims included airline tickets for Maciejewski. The man was held responsible for the loss and not charged by Deerfield police.

Police obtained an arrest warrant for Maciejewski on May 11, 2018, according to police reports.

Just over six months later, Harwood Heights police called to report they had Maciejewski in custody on the night of Nov. 13.

Maciejewski, who could not be reached for comment, was processed at the Deerfield Police Department and released after proving the $7,500 cash portion of his bond ahead of a Dec. 17 court date, according to police and court records.