Sibling cops crack fraud net

February 19, 2006

MARY AMES\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - Kelly Turney, a detective with the Palmer police, reached for the phone when he saw that a haul of stolen checks and false identification found during a traffic stop came from Fairbanks.

It was an official call, but also a family call, that he placed to his younger sister, Pearl Holston, a detective with the Fairbanks police. Without the free and easy communication that already existed between the siblings, a web of thefts, forgeries and frauds involving hundreds of victims and close to $500,000 worth of purchases - everything from a 62-inch flat-screen TV to a red-bellied newt - might not have unraveled so quickly.

At least 10 people from the Fairbanks area allegedly financed their shopping binge by stealing credit cards, debit cards and checks from mailboxes of people from Fox, Fairbanks, Anchorage, Valdez and the Valley and using them to fashion fake identifications.

The first hint of a Valley connection to the cases came when Palmer Police Officer James &#8220Lucky” Gipson stopped John Bo Phillips, 22, for reckless driving and driving with an altered or revoked license in mid-December. Gipson found the stolen checks and IDs from Fairbanks area in the car, and gave the information to Turney. That's when he touched base with his sister.

&#8220I asked her if she could look at this for me, and she started asking around,” he said. &#8220We talked back and forth for about three or five days. She alerted the Alaska State Troopers up there and her patrol officers. Pretty soon, we saw how big it was getting and said, ‘Oh, boy, we need help.' We have been talking at least once a day since then, and I've gone up there twice.”

An investigative task force that included the Palmer, North Pole, University of Alaska and Fairbanks police departments, the troopers, including the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, Palmer and Fairbanks district attorneys and the U.S. Postal Service coalesced after Turney and Holston's initial conversation.

At a Friday press conference in Fairbanks, the detectives said they have identified about 500 mail-theft victims and uncovered $300,000 to $500,000 in fraudulent activity.

At least $200,000 of that was in the form of stolen and forged checks, they said. They announced the indictments of 10 suspects in Fairbanks, with nine of them arrested.

&#8220There were a lot of twists and turns in this case during the last eight weeks,” Turney said. &#8220I wouldn't be surprised if more victims came forward. They weren't an organized ring as far as a hierarchy, but they were all friends. They shared information as to what was working, refining their criminal behavior. We found checks, both stolen and written, with victims hit and businesses used from Fairbanks to Valdez.”

Although the 10 suspects are from Fairbanks, Phillips and Kevin L. Coe, 31, were indicted in Palmer Superior Court because of their alleged illegal activities in this district, Turney said.

Phillips is charged with second-degree forgery, second-degree theft and fraudulent use of an access device, according to court records.

Coe is charged with second-degree forgery, first-degree criminal impersonation and fraudulent use of an access device, records show.

It is quite possible that others will be indicted, Holston said, and the FBI is aware of the investigation, but not yet involved.

&#8220This started with three patrol officers, from Palmer, North Pole and Fairbanks,” Holston said. &#8220At first it didn't look like the crimes were related, but we discovered this was way bigger than we first suspected.”

One reason the Valley was hit, Turney said, was that Fairbanks is a small community. Anchorage and the Valley provided the suspects with anonymity and the availability of more stores.

Using search warrants, investigators found laptop computers, vehicles, trailers, furniture, stereo equipment, digital cameras, scanners, printers, tools and gift cards purchased with the stolen checks and stolen cards.

One of the more unusual purchases was at Petco, where one suspect bought supplies for a dog and a red-bellied newt.

In a brief moment of levity at the press conference, Trooper Joshua Bentz said that no newts were harmed in the investigation.

Turney described the purchases as everything from nickel-and-dime to major splurges.

No one has been indicted on drug charges, but Turney said methamphetamines were an underlying component with every suspect.

It's likely that the suspects have not yet all been identified, Holston said.

The suspects apparently used the laptops to create more false identification cards, but investigators aren't sure whether they tried to apply for new cards. &#8220They tried to access accounts online, though,” she said. &#8220So for some victims, it might not be over.”

Although Turney and Holston always have war stories to tell each other, or pick each other's brain about cases, this was the first time they have worked a case together.

&#8220I know of father-son teams and brother-brother teams, but I don't know of any other brother-sister teams,” he said. &#8220That makes it kind of neat. It worked out all right.”