Police cancel
check-fraud ring

Local and federal authorities
nab 14 people accused of making
false ID cards to use stolen
checks and credit cards

By Rod Ohira
Star-Bulletin

A Kalihi woman who allegedly masterminded a large-scale fraud operation which has cost local banks and merchants several hundred thousand dollars is in federal custody along with 13 other ring members.

Tina Abalos, 42, of Alokele Street was arrested Wednesday night and charged yesterday with knowingly producing and transferring false identification documents.

The ring used false identification cards generated by computers to cash checks and to shop with credit cards stolen from mail, according to authorities.

"The public is not stuck . . . it's the banks and merchants," said police Detective Bruce Swann, a task force member.

FBI spokesman John Gillies estimated losses at between $250,000 and $1 million.

Other ring members identified in an affidavit filed yesterday in federal court are Dana Aea, Abalos' daughter; Lisa Martinez, a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier; Grace Ellazar, Marlene Ogata, Mary Jane Fontanilla, Susan Salviejo, Richard Choroski, Richard and Irene Pascua, William and Claire Young, Laine Lacanaria, and Mike Woodfall.

A joint police and federal task force investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected.

In his affidavit, FBI special agent Mark Scire described Abalos as the head of the organization and said she bought stolen mail, or "paperwork," from many people.

The "paperwork" included credit cards, pre-approved credit applications, checks and anything that contained personal information that could be used to make an identification card.

Abalos possessed about 200 false identification cards, the affidavit says.

The fake identification cards were used to cash stolen checks, an activity the ring referred to as "the game." Abalos paid members a percentage from amounts received from cashed stolen checks, Scire said.

Investigators said they have several hundred cases involving the ring.

The affidavit cites a typical incident that occured in May when Abalos allegedly had false identifications made in order to cash stolen federal tax refund checks.

The court document also noted that another fake identification card was used with a stolen credit card in May to purchase gold at the Pacific Gold Exchange.

"The work was good, pretty sophisticated," Swann said of the false ID cards.

The ring also opened fraudulent bank accounts and deposited stolen checks using forged signatures and fake identifications.

Scire said checks were then written on the account to bail out ring members arrested by police for offenses such as forgery and auto theft.

According to the affidavit, Abalos also placed catalog orders with stolen credit cards.

The investigation began in April when police auto-theft detectives began checking into the use of stolen credit cards and false identification to rent vehicles.

"It just started mushrooming from there," Swann said.

By early May, investigators had identified the source of the false ID cards and the major players, the detective said.