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Information provided should not be relied upon for any type of legal action.

Release Number: 09-043

For Immediate Release

Public Information Office

February 20, 2009

JD Callaway: jcallawa@hcso.tampa.fl.us

(813) 247-8060

 

 

Who:

Felony Lane Gang
What:

Public alert for these criminals
When:

Current
Where:

Hillsborough County
Why/How:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Individuals from an organized bank fraud, identity theft and automobile burglary ring have been identified as having committed crimes within Hillsborough County as well as at least four other central Florida counties during the past four months.  This team is a part of the “Felony Lane Group” which operates out of the southern portion of Florida.  This group has traveled around the state committing at least thirty burglaries and an undetermined amount of credit card and bank fraud. This group made at least four trips into Hillsborough County to commit crimes and losses to area financial institutions alone are over $50,000.

The group would target purses and wallets which were left unattended in vehicles at day cares, gyms, gas stations and schools. Members would commit automobile burglaries and remove checks, credit cards and driver’s licenses, which would later be used to commit bank fraud. In order to attempt to thwart law enforcement action, the group would take the recently stolen checks and identification documents out of the county they were stolen from and negotiate them at drive through lanes in another jurisdiction. Typically, the scheme involved multiple vehicles being used in the drive through lane of the bank. While the stolen checks were being negotiated, a member of the group would drive a rented “blocking vehicle” through the lane closest to the teller. The occupants of this vehicle would engage in a dialogue with the bank teller to distract the teller’s attention from the fraudulent transaction being conducted in the farthest lane (hence the group’s name, the Felony Lane Gang) by a female member of the group. The females conducting the transactions typically wore a wig to match the hair color of the photo on the stolen identification being used in the transaction.

Note: Members of this gang were responsible for burglarizing vehicles in the Lutz area in December that resulted in their detection by deputies and attempting to flee and elude. Deputies were forced to fire their weapons at these suspects when the driver tried to ram deputies. For more details, see HCSO News Release #08-416

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating with numerous law enforcement agencies and financial institutions to identify the victims of the burglaries and to determine which financial institutions suffered losses from this fraudulent scheme. The Sheriff’s Office is asking the public to remain vigilant in the security of their financial and identification documents and to not leave purses and wallets containing these items in unattended vehicles.

Anyone with information on any of the individuals shown below is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at (813) 247-8200. All photographs are from bank frauds committed in Hillsborough County or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477.

The Sheriff’s Office reminds people to be alert and don’t leave valuables in unattended vehicles – and always lock the doors!