Four People Arrested After Allegedly Stealing Identities Of Surfside Condo Collapse Victims
Four people have been arrested and charged for allegedly stealing the identities of seven victims of the tragic Surfside condo collapse in Florida.
RELATED: Firefighter Pulls His Own Daughter’s Body From Florida Condo Collapse Debris
On Wednesday, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle announced the arrests of 30-year-old Betsy Alexandra Cacho Medina, 38-year-old Rodney Choute, and 34-year-old Kimberly Michelle Johnson. They are charged with identity theft and schemes to defraud. They each face 15 to 30 years in prison. According to an updated report by NBC News, a fourth person has also been accused of stealing the identities of victims in the South Florida condominium collapse that killed 98 people, officials said.
“These individuals appear to be very skilled identity thieves, they’re professionals,” Fernandez Rundle said on Wednesday. “Except for their names, almost nothing else about them seems to be true.”
Cops were alerted of suspicious activity after the sister of one of the deceased victims contacted Surfside police back in July, saying she noticed password changes to the victim’s bank accounts and credit cards, as well as new addresses and contact information. None of the new addresses were the residences of the identity thieves, officials said.
From there, an investigation was launched involving the fraud investigation, including Miami-Dade police, Surfside police, Aventura police, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Meanwhile, officials are still trying to determine what caused the 40-year-old building to collapse years after initial warnings about serious structural issues.
Press Play Below For More:
RELATED: First Victim Identified From Miami High Rise Collapse