2 Charged After 2-Year Investigation Of Identity Theft: Cops

HOMER GLEN, IL — Two people have been charged as a result of a two-year investigation involving identity theft, fraud and forgery related crimes, the Will County Sheriff's Office said. Jamelle McBride, 32, of Homer Glen, has been charged with defrauding a financial institution, identity theft and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and Brenden Butler, 22, of Lansing, has been charged with possession of fraudulent identification and continuing a financial crime enterprise.

The charges come after a search warrant was executed Thursday on a home in the 16000 block of Josef Drive in Homer Glen, the sheriff's office said. Detectives from the Will County Sheriff's Office, along with other law enforcement officials from the United States Secret Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Illinois Department of Revenue, Lake Forest Police Department and Chicago Police Department served the search warrant.

The investigation spanned two years and involved numerous counts of illegal and unauthorized use of victims' identifications and financial information to make online purchases of high-value items, the sheriff's office said. Some purchases included lawn mowers, tractors, appliances and leather goods.

The items purchased were then retrieved from the store using fraudulent means, and were kept for personal use or sold online via LetGo or OfferUp, the sheriff's office said, adding that victims lost more than $1 million dollars over the past two years.

At the Homer Glen home, police found devices used to manufacture fraudulent identification cards and fake credit cards, including a card embossing machine, a device used to encode or recode the magnetic stripe of credit cards and printers used to make fake identification, the sheriff's office said.

Police also said they found numerous fraudulent driver's licenses, credit cards and re-encoded credit cards at the home. There were also two loaded firearms, fraudulently purchased appliances, multiple cars, computers, cell phones, leather goods, a large amount of cash and other suspected stolen property, police said.

The sheriff's office said the investigation is ongoing, and McBride and Butler could be charged with additional crimes. The sheriff's office also expects to charge additional individuals involved in the operation.

"This investigation is the largest of its kind ever conducted in Will County," a release from the sheriff's office states. "The men and women that investigated this case should be commended for their determination, attention to detail, and the work ethic needed to investigate such large-scale investigation."