Seattle man used fake ID to buy trailer, then used it as mobile identity-theft lab
A “prolific identity thief” used stolen information to buy a $19,000 travel trailer from a Boise dealer that he turned into a mobile unit for producing false identifications and phony credit cards, prosecutors said.
Ryan M. Tichy, 43, of Seattle, was sentenced to 7½ years in prison Thursday, March 16, in federal court in Boise, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Idaho said in a news release.
According to the release and court documents, including the plea agreement:
Tichy stole the identities of numerous people from May 2018 through November 2020. He equipped the travel trailer and a cargo trailer to serve as identity-theft labs.
He used stolen information to “create false identification documents, open credit accounts, obtain loans, take over existing credit accounts and make purchases” worth between $95,000 and $150,000 in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Nevada. The fraudulently obtained data included names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and account numbers.
In March and April 2019, he used a fake driver’s license that he’d created and went to Bretz RV & Marine in Boise, where he impersonated someone with the initials J.B. He submitted a credit application and bought an Aspen Trail travel trailer, which cost over $19,000.
When federal authorities served a search warrant in December 2020, they discovered the lab inside the cargo trailer. It contained computers, printers and other equipment for producing counterfeit identity cards.
Investigators also found “foils, blank stock for driver’s licenses, an embosser, a card punch, printers, counterfeit driver’s licenses in various stages of completion, and counterfeit credit cards.”
In the travel trailer from Bretz, authorities “recovered a metal card punch, mail and paperwork belonging to numerous other people, a point-of-sale terminal, handwritten notes with personally identifying information, counterfeit identification cards, laminate, foil, and cards.”
“Mr. Tichy is a prolific identity thief who victimized dozens of individuals and businesses after cutting off his ankle monitor while under federal supervised release following his time spent in prison for prior identify-theft related offenses,” said Gail S. Ennis, inspector general for the Social Security Administration.
Idaho Chief District Judge David Nye sentenced Tichy to 90 months in federal prison on charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Idaho Statesman Business and Local Government Editor David Staats contributed.
This story was originally published March 16, 2023 at 7:56 PM with the headline "Seattle man used fake ID to buy trailer, then used it as mobile identity-theft lab."
