Mortgage Company Employees Charged With I.D. Theft, Grand Larceny

In New York City, The New York Times reports that investigators have arrested Jacob Milton, 41, the branch manager of the Jackson Heights, Queens office of Griffin Mortgage Company, and his sister, Nira Niru, 38, a secretary in the same office for identity theft, grand larceny and scheming to defraud.

They are accused of opening bogus charge accounts and taking out mortgage loans using the personal identification information given to them from prospective mortgage customers who applied for loans at their office, the police said. Many were seeking to become first-time homeowners. The investigation began when each of six separate victims reported that their I.D.s had been stolen. According to the story:

• Investigators said they found a common link: all six had applied for loans at the same local mortgage office. Further investigation found still more victims, and fraud estimated to total more than $1 million, the police said. [...] The number of victims is likely to rise to at least 12 by the time the investigation is finished, the police said.

For more, see Mortgage Office Manager Charged With Identity Theft and Grand Larceny.