Around the world in search of ID thieves

Our investigation has brought us to Zurich, Switzerland, where finally, after months of investigating, we’re in a private meeting with a man who may be a key player in an international identity theft ring run by someone called Wendy.

Barrister Micheal:  Stuff like this. Shipping down to Switzerland, to Holland, to England.  And believe me, she’s really doing quite good in this thing. 

I’m expecting to hear more about the shipping business, but instead he brings up another scheme entirely—and it involves a friend of Wendy’s friend, a friend in need.

Barrister Micheal:  She’s Portuguese, Italian.

Hansen: Right.

Barrister Micheal: She came into Switzerland, but she had some problems, you know? 

Problems, he says, like illegally laundering drug money.   And a whole load of that dirty money, he says, is now sitting in a safe.

Hansen: How much money are we talking about?

Barrister Micheal (whispering): It’s quite much!

Hansen: Millions?

Barrister Micheal: Yeah.  We’re talking about six—about six—she told me six point five million, U.S. dollars.

Hansen: $6.5 million.

Barrister Micheal: Yeah, I was....

Hansen: Wow!

A big part of that $6.5 million could be mine, he says.  All I have to do is cough up $45,000 dollars to pay bank fees.

Hansen: I would pay Wendy?  Or I would pay you?  Or this other woman?

Barrister Micheal: This other woman.

Hansen: Right.

Barrister Micheal: But of course you have to pay my own charges as a-at least a consultant fee. 

Hansen: Right.  Well, I’m listening, I’m listening.

This sounds more and more like those Nigerian “get-rich-quick” schemes we exposed just a couple of weeks ago.

And that’s not why we came to Zurich. Remember, I’m here to talk about Wendy’s shipping business, and I want to let Barrister Micheal know I’m not about to be swindled.

Maybe it’s time to make him sweat a little..

Hansen: I wanted to ask you some other questions about Wendy’s business.  Now I presume you know a little bit about it, what she does.  Electronics—

Barrister Micheal: Not really too much.

Wendy’s lawyer now claims he doesn’t know much about her shipping business. But I ask anyway.

Hansen: But as a barrister, can I just ask your advice on something?

I show him some of the orders to “Wendy” that were placed with stolen credit cards.

Hansen: Now here again, let me, let me show you this one here.  Okay. This woman said she didn’t know anything about Wendy Kenson, never met her, didn’t know anything about her.  But her card was used illegally to purchase this.  What about that?

Barrister Micheal: It’s funny. 

Hansen: It’s funny, huh?

Barrister Micheal: No, no.

I explain that time after time, we’ve found people who told us they never approved electronics orders for “Wendy.”

Remember Leigh Morton?

Hansen: Do you know anybody named Wendy Kenson?

Leigh Morton: No.

Hansen: So as a barrister, what does that say to you? How would you advise me on this?

Barrister Micheal: Yeah.  I wouldn’t know. I don’t know much.

Hansen: Right.

Barrister Micheal: But this looks... well, you called these people?

Hansen: Right. And they said we didn’t charge it.  Our card was used illegally.  Somebody got a hold of our card number and used it.

Barrister Micheal: There might be something funny about it. 

Now, even her lawyer admits—there might be “something funny” about Wendy’s business.

And, suddenly, Barrister Micheal acts as if he barely knows Wendy at all.

Hansen: But what does that say about Wendy?

Barrister Micheal: Well as I said earlier, I knew her when she came to Switzerland.  She has to introduce this lady to me.

Hansen: Right.  How many times do you figure you talked—on the phone or Internet?

Barrister Micheal: She called me some few months ago.  And she was telling me she’s somewhere in Europe.

And what about those eye-catching photos Wendy sends, supposedly of herself?

Barrister Micheal acts as if he’s never seen them.

Hansen: Now, I want you to take a look at this.  Do you recognize her?

Barrister Micheal: She has black hair.

Hansen: But do you recognize the woman in that photo?

Barrister Micheal: No.

Hansen: That is Wendy.

Barrister Micheal: But she has—black hair.

Hansen: But that’s not the Wendy you know?

Barrister Micheal: No.

Hansen: No?

Barrister Micheal: No.

This is getting stranger by the minute. Not only does Wendy’s so-called lawyer claim not to know about her identity theft operation, now, he doesn’t even recognize “Wendy.”

It’s time to put and end to this charade.

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