Found Wallet At Mitchell Turns Into Identity Theft Arrest

MILWAUKEE, WI -- Authorities in Milwaukee County say an astute customer service representative with Southwest Airlines helped police arrest two identity theft suspects before their plane departed from Mitchell International Airport.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee County, Dallal Farha, 38, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Robert Martin, 36, of Ypsilanti, Michigan, were arrested and charged with multiple counts of identity theft and forgery. Collectively, the couple faces 12 charges, court records show.

Investigators say the incident happened on the afternoon of June 6 at Mitchell International Airport. A customer service representative with Southwest Airlines reportedly found a lost wallet on the jetway to a plane that was being boarded. The person looked inside the wallet to find identification so that the wallet could be returned to its owner.

According to police, the wallet contained a number of ID cards under several different names. The representative immediately called the Milwaukee County Sheriff's office.

According to the criminal complaint, when Milwaukee County Sheriff's deputies boarded the plane to find Martin and Farha, they reportedly found Martin seated on the plane with Farha laying across his lap. When he was questioned, Martin reportedly told officers that his name was John Smith and that the woman seated across his lap did not know him.

When deputies ran a fingerprint analysis of the two, they identified Farha as a person with an extensive record of fraud-related crimes, and also as a person currently on federal probation.

According to the criminal complaint, when deputies searched her purse, they found a false Pennsylvania driver's license with her photograph and a false name. They also found a total of 19 bank cards that belonged to other people. Deputies reported also finding several social security cards that also belonged to other people.

Investigators also reported finding the following items in Farha's purse:

• An e-mail giving detailed instructions on how to buy stolen social security numbers on the internet, and how to create and use stolen identities to commit fraud.
• Notebooks containing multiple persons names, social security numbers, and other personal identifying information.
• An entire profile for John Smith including social security numbers, business entities created using his identity, credit report, USPS change of address applications, and other documents.
• Similar profiles for other persons organized in folders.
• Correspondence regarding the issuance of credit cards under the identities contained in the profile folders.
• Blank check stock.
• Notes of bank routing numbers.

When deputies talked with the "real" John Smith, Smith reportedly said that "some unknown person" had stolen his identity, and ruined his credit, the criminal complaint stated.