NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, April 7, 2014

INCIDENTS

Shenandoah NP

Two Found Guilty In Major Auto Break-In Case

On October 21st, Shenandoah rangers arrested two people - Florida residents H.W. and S.K. - who were suspected of committing two vehicle burglaries (‘car clouts') within the park. Numerous items of stolen property were found inside their vehicle, including various IDs, bank checks, electronic equipment, and over 30 credit cards. Click HYPERLINK "http://classicinside.nps.gov/headline.cfm?type=Incidents&id=6843" here to see the original incident report.

The case was transferred to the Investigative Services Branch. The ensuing investigation revealed that the pair had been involved in a type of aggravated identity theft referred to as ‘Felony Lane Gang' schemes. In summary, the scheme involves breaking into vehicles to steal identification documents, credit cards and bank checks. The perpetrators then cash one victim's bank checks by using a separate victim's bank information and identification.

The thieves frequently work in teams and wear disguises in order to appear like their victims. They use the outermost lane at a bank's drive-thru to make their fraudulent transactions, thus earning the nickname the ‘Felony Lane Gang.' They also use the victims' credit card(s) to purchase gift cards that can be later used as cash.

At the time of their arrest, S.K. and H.W. had in their possession over $3,500 in U.S. currency and 111 gift cards valued at more than $3,800.

Several state and federal task forces exist throughout the country to combat these traveling, Florida-based groups. With the assistance of the United States Attorney's Office, the United States Secret Service, local law enforcement agencies, corporate fraud investigators and many victims, investigators uncovered evidence which linked S.K. and H.W. to numerous cases in several different jurisdictions and identified more than 50 additional victims. This evidence was then used to indict them federally under conspiracy and various fraud-related statutes.

H.W. is also wanted by the state of Florida on burglary and grand theft charges. Knowing he had an active warrant at the time of his arrest, H.W. falsely identified himself as his brother. His true name was not known until after two court appearances, during which H.W. testified (and lied) under oath about his identity. He was subsequently charged with two counts of perjury.

Pursuant to the terms of a plea agreement, both S.K. and H.W. were found guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud using identification documents of another, conspiracy to commit fraud using access devices, and aggravated identity theft - the proceeds of which totaled more than $70,000.

The aggravated identity theft statute (18 U.S.C. 1028A) carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years imprisonment, which must be served consecutively to any other sentence that is received. A forfeiture provision for the items that were seized in the case was also included in the plea agreements.

S.K. and H.W. have been in custody since their arrest and are scheduled to be sentenced on June 12th.

[Investigative Services Branch]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's webpage editions of InsideNPS (available to NPS employees only) and the Morning Report (available to all readers):

Shenandoah NP - The unveiling of the newest coin in the America the Beautiful Quarters program, which honors Shenandoah National Park, was celebrated on Friday, April 4th. The public event took place in the auditorium of Skyline High School in Front Royal, Virginia.

Office of Communications - The National Park Service has produced a new, 37-second-long video promoting National Park Week, which takes place this year from April 19th to April 27th. Links are provided to it.

Fire Island National Seashore - The park hosted its ninth Biennial Science Conference on March 28th. Recent research and monitoring efforts were the focus of the event, including a number of presentations about how the barrier island has changed since Hurricane Sandy.

Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings, newly introduced bills, and the status of legislation of interest to the National Park Service. This report covers activities in Congress for the week ending April 4th.

To see the full text of these stories, readers should go to one or the other of the following sites:

NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index

Non-NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/

The Morning Report is produced by the Office of Communications with the support of the Office of the Associate Director for Information Resources. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov).

--- ### ---