Identity Thief Thursday: Yee-Haw. Cowboy Boots Lead to Identity Theft Arrest

May 1, 2008

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You know how it goes.. you steal some credit cards, go on a buying spree, but just can’t resist those designer cowboy boots. That’ll always get you in the end.

That’s what happened to a charming pair in Bibb County, Georgia. John Fravel and Sebastian Wooley were arrested at a Hampton Inn in Macon, having racked up warrants in Florida and Texas.

Fravel in particular has been under investigation since July 2007 and has at least 40 known aliases.

The pair had previously used one of their victims’ identities to buy a Chrysler 300 in West Palm Beach, Florida. However, it was their trip to Circle Western Wear in Bibb County that was their downfall.

Clerks there reported “suspicious card activity” after Fravel & Wooley walked out of there with $300 custom cowboy boots.

The police tracked them down to the Hampton Inn via the credit card. They raided a hotel room and found Woolley (who is 18 and a minor by the way) with a bunch of fake drivers licenses, a laptop, and booze.

The cops then went for the room next door:

Fravel, who attempted to prevent deputies from opening the door to an adjacent hotel room, was found in possession of a laptop computer, multiple credit cards in various names, a credit card reader and the wallet of a theft victim from Michigan whose car was stolen in Helen, according to the release

.Fravel is now charged with “financial transaction card fraud, identity theft, theft by receiving stolen property, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and felony obstruction”. Wooley can look forward to “possession of alcohol by a minor and financial transaction card fraud”.

I guess the lesson in all of this is that you can buy cars with stolen identities no problem, but resist the cowboy boots. You’ll never get away with it.

Source: Macon Telegraph

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