Novi Police Aid in Identity Theft Case

Novi Deputy Police Chief Thomas Lindberg and Assistant Police Chief Victor Lauria were just going to July 29 to ship some donated bullet proof vests, but found themselves aiding in an identity theft case, according to a police memo.

According to the memo from Lauria to Chief of Police David Molloy, which was shared with the Novi City Council, the officers were preparing Novi’s outdated bulletproof vests to ship as donations to the Armor for God program in Alabama when they noticed a man, who was in the process of shipping a package, acting suspiciously at the Grand River Avenue store.

“We observed the male for several minutes noting his odd behavior and developing additional information,” Lauria said in the memo.

The officers relayed the information to Detective Amanda Kulikowski, who was able to “develop probable cause” to obtain a search warrant for the package, according to the memo.

The package contained more than 100 fraudulent credit cards, the memo said.

The investigation, which is still underway, has been turned over to the United States Secret Service. Agents from the Secret Service informed Novi Police that the male is part of a multi-state identity theft ring, according to the memo.

Novi Police declined to comment as the case is still under investigation.