On Q Professional Investigations

“The masked criminal known as the Cyborg Bandit and, later, the Elephant Man Bandit was robbing Seattle-area banks at an average of more than two per month for an entire year before he was caught—in the act of robbing a bank he had already robbed.

For investigators who routinely work bank robberies, the story of 46-year-old Anthony Hathaway, sentenced last month to nearly nine years in prison, is surprising in some ways but all too familiar in others.

“In this particular case and in general, bank robbery is a crime of last resort,” said Len Carver, a detective with the Seattle Police Department and member of the FBI’s Seattle Safe Streets Task Force. “Occasionally you get a thrill seeker or a truly violent individual, but most people who rob banks are supporting an addiction of some kind—drugs or gambling—and they are desperate.”

Hathaway’s addiction was to prescription painkillers and then to heroin. According to court records, he suffered an injury and became addicted to the opiate Oxycontin. After losing his job, he turned to crime to feed his addiction, and between February 2013 and February 2014, Hathaway admitted to 30 bank robberies. He sometimes hit the same bank multiple times.

“Seattle has had many serial bandits over the years,” Carver said, “but Hathaway was prolific. He might top the list for sheer number of robberies in a one-year period.”

During the holdups, which usually occurred late in the afternoon, Hathaway wore a mask and gloves. In the early crimes, he wore textured metallic fabric over his face and was nicknamed the Cyborg Bandit because the disguise was similar to that of cyborgs in science fiction productions. After that disguise began receiving too much media attention, he covered his head with a shirt and cut out two eye holes. That earned him the nickname the Elephant Man Bandit because of the similarity to a movie character of the same name.

In several robberies, Hathaway threatened tellers, saying he had a weapon, although no weapon was ever displayed. On February 4, 2014, after a robbery in Lynwood, Washington, surveillance video showed what might have been the robber’s getaway vehicle: a light blue minivan with a Seattle Seahawks football decal on the back window and an unusual, after-market exterior mirror.

A bulletin with the vehicle’s description went out to area law enforcement, and an Everett Police Department officer spotted it several days later and notified investigators. “An officer on patrol was being observant,” Carver said. “It was a key moment in the investigation.”

At that point, however, the bank robber’s identity was still unknown. The vehicle was not registered to Hathaway, and several people had access to it. FBI agents began surveillance, and on February 11, 2014 they observed a man drive away in the vehicle.

The driver spent several hours circling a Seattle bank that had been previously robbed. “It seemed clear he was going to rob the bank,” Carver said, “and we had a high confidence that whoever was driving the van and about to rob that bank was going to be good for the other robberies.”

Finally, Hathaway parked and pulled a mask over his face as he entered the bank. FBI agents and task force officers were there to arrest him moments later. Hathaway was identified and later admitted to the 30 robberies. In a plea arrangement concluded last month, he was sentenced to 106 months in prison.

“We are grateful that the Safe Streets Task Force was able to close all these robberies,” Carver said. “And we are pleased that Hathaway is no longer a threat to the community.”

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Allison Layton, who owned a California company called Miracles Egg Donation (Miracles), claimed she was in the business of helping infertile couples have children. But her business turned out to be a fraud, and she ended up stealing her victims’ hopes and dreams as well as their money.

Would-be parents paid Miracles tens of thousands of dollars—sometimes their life savings—for egg donation and surrogacy services that Layton promised to coordinate. Instead, during a three-year period beginning in 2008, she defrauded couples, egg donors, and surrogate mothers while living a lavish lifestyle off the proceeds.

“This was not a typical white-collar case,” said Special Agent Dana Eads, who led the investigation from the FBI’s Los Angeles Division. “Many of the victims were in a vulnerable place in their lives—working against their biological clocks and trying to afford this expensive and time-consuming procedure. Some told the judge that because of Layton’s actions, they had effectively missed the opportunity to have children.”

The fees paid to Miracles by would-be parents—known in the surrogacy world as intended parents—were supposed to go into escrow accounts to be withdrawn for expenses related to surrogacy or egg donation. But Layton took the money and spent it on her own $60,000 wedding, a new vehicle for her husband, and high-end shopping sprees she flaunted on social media.

As a result, egg donors, surrogates, attorneys, and others often were not paid for the services they provided, and many intended parents—including some who lived overseas—failed to get the services they paid for.

“It became like a Ponzi scheme,” Eads explained. “Early on, some people got the services they paid for. But then Layton began shuffling funds to cover some clients’ services and not others. And when it all finally collapsed, nobody was getting anything.”

When confronted by clients, Layton lied about why payments had not been made and refunds not issued. She led victims to believe they might soon be paid, when, in fact, many were not. Eventually, several victims contacted the FBI while others filed reports with the local police department in Glendora, California. Court records indicate that more than 40 victims lost in excess of $270,000.

Layton maintained she had simply made poor business decisions, but through interviews, bank records, and e-mail correspondence, Eads soon uncovered the fraud.

“The scam was apparent, especially when we examined her bank records,” Eads said. “Layton regularly told clients their checks—which she never wrote—must have been lost in the mail. She told that to so many people. That story, told the same way again and again, was a clear indication of her attempt to hide the truth.”

In 2014, Layton was charged with wire fraud. In a pre-indictment plea agreement with federal prosecutors, she admitted defrauding the victims, and in September 2015, a judge sentenced the 38-year-old to 18 months in prison.

Considering the damage that she caused—both financial and emotional—some of Layton’s victims believe she got off too easy. Eads understands how they feel. “But as a result of this case,” she said, “Layton is now a convicted felon, and part of the plea she accepted is that she can never work in this industry again.”

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“LUMBERTON, N.C. — A Fairmont man has been charged with thefts across Lumberton after a resident posted his picture online.

J.C. Chavis was arrested Monday evening and charged with five counts of felony breaking and entering, four counts of felony larceny and eight counts of misdemeanor larceny.

According to Lumberton police Capt. Terry Parker, Chavis was identified after a resident circulated a picture of him and his vehicle on Facebook and someone who recognized him contacted police. City Councilman Burnis Wilkins, who represents the area where some of the thefts occurred, shared the photos on his Facebook page, and the post was shared more than 1,200 times.

Most of the incidents occurred in the Tanglewood and Godwin Heights neighborhoods, Parker said.

“Mr. Chavis was cruising neighborhoods inside the city looking for property to steal driving a brown, tanish colored van. He has reportedly been seen driving slow in areas and even backing up after passing some residents,” a statement from the Police Department said.

According to Parker, some of the stolen items include lawn furniture and ladders left outside as well as appliances stolen from inside houses. He said the majority of the stolen items have been recovered.

Chavis, 53, has been jailed in the Robeson County Detention Center under a $62,000 secured bond. His last known address is on Pittman Street in Fairmont.

The Robeson County Sheriff’s Department, Fairmont Police Department and the Pembroke Police Department assisted with the investigation.

Sarah Willets can be reached at 910-816-1974 or on Twitter @Sarah_Willets.

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Thomas W. Lucas, Jr. was such an effective liar that he was able to convince hundreds of investors—even members of his own family—that he had inside information about a Disney resort to be built in Texas that would make the nearby scrubland worth a fortune for those who bought it ahead of time.

Of course, there was no “Frontier Disney,” as Lucas claimed, but using false documents, forged signatures, and phony presentations, he was able to pocket nearly $450,000 in real estate fees over a four-year period and cause investors to lose approximately $20 million.

“Thomas Lucas Jr. fooled savvy investors and very intelligent people,” said Special Agent Rick Velasquez, who investigated the case from the FBI’s Dallas Division. “He was a very believable guy.”

From 2006 to 2010, Lucas defrauded more than 250 investors. He claimed to have insider information regarding a Disney resort and theme park planned for a rural area about 50 miles north of Dallas. He was giving investors a chance to buy surrounding land outright, or to purchase options to buy the land near the supposed resort. The 65 investors who purchased options lost every cent they invested—more than $8 million. Some investors, including Lucas’ father and uncle in the family real estate business, purchased land outright, believing the Disney story.

“There was not one grain of truth in Lucas’ presentations,” Velasquez said, “but his pitch was very elaborate, and it fooled a lot of people. He duped his own family.”

Lucas claimed to have letters between Disney and a management firm saying that the company had acquired enough land to make the deal happen. He included the letters—complete with forged Disney officials’ signatures—in his presentations to investors, along with detailed maps, concept plans, and images that were later discovered to be lifted from the Internet, some from Disney websites.

According to Lucas, Disney planned to make the big announcement about the resort at a Dallas Cowboys football game on Thanksgiving in 2006. When that didn’t happen, he told investors there were delays. “Then the announcement was going to be Super Bowl 2007, 2008. Then it was Fourth of July at the Beijing Olympic games,” Velasquez said. “He was just trying to keep investors and potential investors on the hook.”

With each delay, Lucas would sweeten the pot with some new bogus e-mail from a Disney executive or other bit of tantalizing information meant to persuade people the project was still on track. Eventually, investors became suspicious, and one made a complaint to the FBI.

Velasquez, who specializes in financial fraud cases, says the scheme went on for so long because Lucas was believable—and also because investors could not resist the temptation of making large returns on their money.

When confronted by investigators about his claims, Lucas falsely blamed the supposed Disney information he received on a man he met at a methadone rehab clinic, who had since died. In 2014, Lucas was indicted by a federal grand jury on seven counts of wire fraud and one count of lying to the FBI.

Last September, after a jury trial in which Lucas maintained his innocence but was found guilty on all charges, a judge sentenced the 35-year-old to 17.5 years in prison. “That was a stiff sentence for a white-collar crime,” Velasquez noted, “but he defrauded a lot of people and showed no remorse.”

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Police in Fort Pierce are searching for weapons stolen Saturday night from a security officer’s vehicle at Indian River State College.

The crime happened between 6 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Police said the stolen weapons are a Kimber 45 caliber pistol, a Bushmaster AR 223 rifle and a Colt M4 Carbine 5.56mm with loaded magazines. A Fort Pierce police badge was also taken.

Police said the security officer is Hall Solomon, a retired Fort Pierce police officer.

They said Solomon was on duty when someone pried open one of the vehicle doors and stole the weapons.

Solomon said when he returned to his truck to get something, he noticed that his weapons were missing. He said each one was in a separate gun case and losses total about $4,000.

Police confirm that the weapons were from Solomon’s personal collection. Solomon said he’s also a gun dealer.

Detectives are hoping finger prints from Solomon’s vehicle can lead to an arrest. There’s no suspect information at this time.

If you have any information about this crime, call the Fort Pierce Police Department.

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The Van Dyke Money Gang in New York made off with more than $1.5 million this year — but it wasn’t in gunpoint robberies or drug running, it was a Western Union money order scheme. In New Jersey, 111 Neighborhood Crips used a machine to make dozens of fake gift cards for supermarkets, pharmacies and hardware stores.

In South Florida, gangs steal identities to file false tax returns.

These aren’t members of an organized Mafia or band of hackers. They’re street crews and gangs netting millions in white-collar schemes like identity theft and credit card fraud — in some instances, giving up the old ways of making an illicit income in exchange for easier crimes with shorter sentences.

“Why would you spend time on the street slinging crack when you can get 10 years under federal minimums when in reality you can just bone up on how to make six figures and when you get caught you’re doing six months?” said Al Pasqual, director of fraud security at the consulting firm Javelin Strategy and Research.

Law enforcement officials say they see increasingly more gangs relying on such crimes. This year, more than three dozen suspected crew members have been indicted in separate cases around the country. Grand larcenies in New York City account for 40 percent of all crime last year — compared with 28 percent in 2001. About 5 percent of Americans nationwide have experienced some kind of identity theft, with Florida leading the country in complaints.

New York Police Commissioner William Bratton wrote in an editorial in the city’s Daily News last week that white-collar crime was being committed by gang members “to an astonishing degree.”

Crews recruit bank account owners to help cash phony checks, they pay off crooked employees who skim credit card information using hand-held readers, and they buy identities online.

Pasqual said for some, it was a replacement for other crime. “For some it’s a supplement. They’re earning the money to grow the other side of their business, using white-collar crime to fund gun running. For a lot of them this becomes their day to day. They travel the country when they get really good at it.”

A task force created by federal officials in Florida has charged more than 400 people with causing more than $140 million in losses — including more than 60 charged three weeks ago — and officials say increasingly those arrested are gang members.

It’s an organized crime — but not “Organized Crime,” said Bill Maddalena, assistant special agent in charge of the white-collar branch of the Miami FBI office. “They’re very well organized. They have to recruit people to help steal devices, cash the checks.”

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Three women were charged with shoplifting in two incidents at Kohl’s department store, 290 Tunxis Hill Road, over the last week.

Stacy Flanagan, 45, of High Meadow Road, was charged Monday with sixth-degree larceny after store security alleged they saw Flanagan put several pieces of jewelry into her purse, before going into a dressing room and hiding clothes under her jacket, according to the report.

She then walked past the registers before being detained, police said. The merchandise totaled $338 in value.

Flanagan was released on a promise to appear Dec. 14 at state Superior Court in Bridgeport and warned not to return to the store.

Two Bridgeport women were charged with shoplifting at the store on Friday of last week.

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A robber camouflaged as a security guard hit the jackpot Friday outside Greektown Casino when he stole several bags of loot from an armored truck parked along the curb, making off with more than $500,000, according to Detroit police.

No one was hurt. No weapons were brandished, and no threats were made, police said.

“The FBI has taken the lead on the investigation because it seems to be of a suspicious nature,” Assistant Police Chief Steve Dolunt said without elaborating. “Detroit police are working with the FBI on this heist. We’re still looking at video to see how this person escaped.”

The FBI, through spokeswoman Jill Washburn, confirmed it is investigating the case, but Washburn declined further comment.

The heist happened at around 8 a.m. ET at the intersection of Beaubien Street and Monroe Avenue downtown, police said. A black male wearing a Loomis Armored security guard shirt approached the armored vehicle, took the bags of money out of the back and took off.

The driver of the armored vehicle thought that the thief was a co-worker because he was wearing a uniform shirt, said a source familiar with the case.

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A fourth UPS employee accused of stealing more than $100,000 worth of tablet computers from a Northeast Side shipping facility as part of a theft ring was arrested Wednesday morning.
Peter Garnica, 31, faces a charge of cargo theft between $100,000 and $200,000 as well as engaging in organized criminal activity, according to arrest warrant affidavits.

In one round of alleged theft, Garnica stole a cargo load of 140 Surface Pro 3 tablets valued at $132,094.62 from the freight shipping facility located at 4111 NE Loop 410. He sold the cargo to a buyer for $30,000, according to an affidavit.

Garnica’s access to the cargo because of his job allowed him to load the shipment onto a different truck, according to the affidavit.

Detectives said Garnica later stole $7,000 more worth of Surface Pro 3 tablets while working alongside three others, two of whom were co-workers at the facility.

One affidavit notes the thefts occurred from December 2014 to June 2015.

Collaborative efforts from SAPD and the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office led to the October arrests of three others identified by police as UPS employees. Juan Betancourt, Michael Rozier and James Cross were charged with engaging in organized crime, according to SAPD.

SAPD spokesman Officer Douglas Greene described the theft ring as a fencing operation, in which goods are stolen from various businesses around the city and county and resold to consumers.

Items recovered include contraceptive pills, perfume, electronics, vacuums, Spurs memorabilia and much more. Greene said the locations where the stolen good were held looked like Amazon warehouses that were packed with stolen goods and well organized.

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He wasn’t a doctor, but Michael Troyan, a physician assistant in Riverhead, Long Island, had the authority to write prescriptions.

And Federal agents said he wrote thousands, since 2011, to drug dealers — who wanted to sell painkillers on the street, mostly Oxycodone pills, which are highly addictive opioids.

Troyan was arrested Wednesday and charged with conspiring to illegally distribute Oxycodone. If convicted, Troyan, who operated East End Urgent and Primary Care in Riverhead, faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The United States Attorney for the Eastern District, Robert Capers, said Troyan was captured on video writing phony prescriptions for Oxycodone and receiving large quantities of cash at his Riverhead office for prior illegal sales.

The indictment against Troyan charges he was receiving half of the profit from the sale of the Oxycodone pills.

DEA Special Agent in charge, James Hunt, pointed out, “People who are addicted to opioid painkillers are 40 times more likely to be addicted to heroin,” adding, “DEA and our law enforcement partners will continue to identify the diverted painkiller suppliers, be it an oxy street dealer, a rogue doctor, or a greedy physician’s assistant.”

Since 2012, there have been a series of federal prosecutions under the Prescription Drug Initiative — 160 federal and local cases.

Troyan was expected to face a judge at federal court in Central Islip on Wednesday afternoon.

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