by KYW's Steve Tawa
Five people have been indicted in an identity theft ring that allegedly took in more than $1 million from unsuspecting local bank customers.
US attorney Michael Levy (at lectern in photo) says the alleged ringleader, 34-year-old Miguel Bell of Philadelphia, used his considerable charms to draw bank employees in -- sometimes romantically:
"Some of them had -- or they thought they had -- a romantic relationship with him. He used his personal charm to convince them to do him favors and get information."
The indictment alleges that Bell recruited bank tellers to provide the ring with customers' personal data and account numbers.
Levy says that, using the stolen information, they cut fraudulent checks from eight different banks, then split the money.
Previously, 21 people were charged in this case, including ten insiders at banks and check "runners" -- people who walked into the banks and cashed the fake checks.
Each of the local banks restored the accounts of the victims by reversing the transactions.
(Photo by KYW's Steve Tawa)
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