14 DAY TRIAL // A Waldorf, Maryland man pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud after being accused of leading a complex, identity-theft operation that involved pickpocketing, bribes and fake checks. The authorities claim the scheme resulted in over $2.1 million being lost to fraud.
Clyde Austin Gray, Jr., 52, also known as "Big Head" or "Poochie," faces a sentence of 30 years in prison for his illegal activities, which involved paying others to steal personal and banking information of people across the US, Wired reports.
The identity theft gang was called "Cannon to the Wiz" and had over 200 members, including thieves, as well as workers in public institutions, which Gray recruited. According to the evidence, some of them were traveling to sporting events or other events that attracted a lot of people, with the purpose of pickpocketing them and stealing their identity papers.
The gang members had electronic equipment in their vehicles, such as computers and special printers, which allowed them to quickly forge documents, impersonate their victims and make purchases in their name, very soon after they robbed them.
One particular technique used by Gray is called "split deposits" and involves sending money from one victim's bank account to another's and then withdrawing the money in their name. In at least one instance, he paid a medical center worker to steal the bank account information of patients for him.
Back in February, when the Secret Service raided Gray's home, it found packs of documents for 85 victims, including authentic drivers' licenses, credit cards and personal checks. The feds picked up the trail of the operation back in September 2007, when they intercepted three FedEx packages containing the stolen IDs of fourteen Virginia and Washington residents.
Court documents suggest that the gang was based in Chicago, renowned for being home to very skilled "cannons" (pickpockets). Only nine other members of "Cannon to the Wiz" have been charged in connection with this scheme until now.