Suspect of Identity Theft in Washington Could Have More Than 1,000 Victims

Olympia, WAAn Olympia, Washington man who was recently arrested may have planned the identity theft of 1,000 people, according to Thurston County Sheriff John Snaza.

Anthony Vaughn is reportedly being held at Thurston County Jail on 50 counts of identity theft. One veteran detective said that the man was probably part of the largest identity theft ring in the history of the county, according to NWCN.com.

Court documents indicate that Vaughn admitted to detectives that he performed the criminal acts in order to support his drug habit. According to the news provider, detectives lifted 40 boxes of evidence from the man's home in Olympia.

Police said that Vaughn possessed the names and social security numbers of a significant number of employees at the state's Employment Security Division. The names were reportedly listed on papers that were stolen from a car parked outside of the State Capitol last year, the news source said.

"Now, maybe we can give some of the people who have filed complaints and been a victim some relief we caught that person," said Sheriff Snaza.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, victims of identity theft are encouraged to close all of their accounts that they believe may have been tampered with.