Federal investigators say 42 people in South Florida have been charged with identity theft and fraud that involved intended losses of $21 million.
Miami U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said Thursday the suspects were indicted in 25 separate cases. Most were attempts to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, but some involve use of stolen identities to falsely obtain state unemployment insurance.
Ferrer says identity theft remains a huge problem in South Florida and that criminals are branching out to defraud Social Security and other programs. Some have tried to fraudulently claim state tax refunds outside Florida's borders.
"Stolen identities have become the new crack cocaine for street gangs," Ferrer said. "Fraudulent schemes are becoming a much more violent criminal enterprise.
In a recent case, North Miami Beach Police Officer Lino Diaz was serving a search warrant on an identity theft investigation when he was shot.
"The North Miami Beach Police Department, on February the 6th of this year, shed blood in the processing of this crime," Chief J. Scott Dennis said.
Diaz recovered from his injuries and the suspect in the shooting remains behind bars.
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The Federal Trade Commission says Florida has led the nation in identity theft complaints for each of the past four years. In 2014, Florida's rate was 186 complaints for every 100,000 residents.
"We have taken and committed our resources to continue to fight this crime," Dennis said.
