Ben Bernanke Hit By ID Theft – An elaborate identity theft scheme has reached the highest levels of the U.S. financial system, striking Ben Bernanke – the Federal Reserve Chairman – and his wife Anna Bernanke.
According to a D.C. police report, Ben Bernanke’s wife Anna’s purse was stolen last August from her chair at a Capitol Hill Starbucks. It contained her Social Security card, checkbook and IDs.
From there, the Bernankes’ checking account was swept up into a larger ID theft scheme first reported by Newsweek magazine Tuesday.
Court filings show defendant George L. Reid of Washington has confessed to depositing checks from the Bernankes’ account.
In a statement, Bernanke says identity theft affects millions of people each year and that his family was one of 500 separate instances traced back to a single crime ring.
And that’s the latest news on Ben Bernanke hit by ID theft.
Tags: ben bernanke, federal deficit, federal reserve, identity theft
August 27th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
I just don’t believe this could be true.
August 28th, 2009 at 2:16 am
Wow! Bernanke is even dumber than I thought!
August 28th, 2009 at 6:32 am
Its interesting that they not only found the criminal but managed to get a confession. I was also a victim of ID theft but got no such justice because the criminal in my case did not answer his door when the cops went knocking. They tracked all the online purchases, land line and cell phone services that individual(s) had in my name to a specific address-but after going to the address a few times, the cops said no one was ever home. I never knew one could evade arrest by not being home!
August 28th, 2009 at 6:56 am
I was also victim by ID theft and money was stolen from my CitiBank checking account. ID Theft situation is outrages.
August 28th, 2009 at 6:57 am
Stolen checkbook is used to withdraw money from bank account? This is the lowest kind of ID theft.
Wait until the SS# is used to apply for credit cards, etc.
August 28th, 2009 at 7:03 am
Now what people should be asking is: why was his perp prosecuted when millions of other thefts go unsolved?
Unless you are celebrity there is no interest in your case.
this would not be such big problem if thieves were prosecuted more consistently.
There is a business opportunity here. Victims would pay to have these people tracked down.
August 28th, 2009 at 7:10 am
why not?
August 28th, 2009 at 7:11 am
WELL ITS ABOUT TIME IT HAPPENED TO A PUBLIC OFFICIAL NOW MAYBE SOMETHING SERIOUS WILL GET DONE ABOUT IT………………..
August 28th, 2009 at 7:14 am
I wonder if it will take the YEARS to get his straight that it takes the rest of us…..
August 28th, 2009 at 7:17 am
Alas, I absolutely believe this could happen.
Remember, identity theft is not new. People have made careers out of pretending to be other people — often famous people.
Any scheme anyone hatches — it’s been done before. The electronic world just makes it faster and more efficient.
Sigh.
August 28th, 2009 at 7:18 am
So they are too dumb to know you don’t carry your social security card with you? This didn’t really happen, not the way it’s being portrayed. How convenient when they want to overhaul our entire economic system….I’m calling b.s.
August 28th, 2009 at 7:26 am
This is all too common in this world. If course it can happen, many things that are against the law happen by scum every second.
This is just a highly profiled person
August 28th, 2009 at 7:35 am
I complete agree I don’t believe on that story !…
August 28th, 2009 at 7:51 am
There is really no need to carry your social security card around. It’s just not a bright idea. Most SS cards these days has a warning on them not to carry in your wallet.
August 28th, 2009 at 7:52 am
If Mrs. Bernakie was ever a new yorker, she would know to watch her pocket book and personal info more carefully.
in the future, think about a money belt.
August 28th, 2009 at 7:53 am
Why was she carrying around her Soc Security card? That’s not something you shoiuld be carrying around. How stupid are these people (and thier spouses) leading our country?
August 28th, 2009 at 8:02 am
Well join our group ours to was stolen. Both mine and my husbands guess what I net you got more responce then even abtained legal help this alone is costing us 180.00 an hour,, and still fignting it even the banks knwoing at no point was this us. we are in the edge of losig ou small company we have lost contracts due this mess, SO TELL ME WHO IS HELPING YOU ??
August 28th, 2009 at 8:02 am
Believe it folks, it can happen to anyone. The courts need to start putting the hammer down on these organizations when their caught, its not ust a property crime anymore.
August 28th, 2009 at 8:04 am
George L Reid should be executed……..
Punishment for crimes commited in the US are way to LIBERAL………
August 28th, 2009 at 8:16 am
So, Mr. Bernanke’s wife was a victim of an elaborate identity theft scheme? Well, that shouldn’t be anything new to her since her husband and his colleagues are the biggest political thieves this country has ever seen. They have been stealing from U.S. citizens for years. The
greed and power that these thieves have attained to establish a new international economic order is frightening. Now, Obama has reappointed Bernanke for a second term as chief of the Federal Reserve. YIKES!!!
The Federal Reserve is not affiliated with the U.S. Treasury but rather is a privately owned and controlled enterprise that never should have gotten as far as it did. Even President Woodrow Wilson regretted his decision to institute the Federal Reserve because of the duplicitous nature of its origin. When are the American people going to wake up to corrupt government and the advent of socialism in this country?
August 28th, 2009 at 9:37 am
and still nothing will be done about it…. sad to know but true…..
August 28th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Ben Bernanke & Wife Anna
It’s not been revealed how much money was taken, but someone started cashing checks on the Bernankes’ bank account just days after the purse was snatched from her chair in a coffee shop.
The thefts helped fuel an ongoing investigation into a sophisticated ring responsible for more than $2.1 million in losses from 500 individuals and involving at least 10 financial institutions, court documents said.
A suspected ringleader, Clyde Austin Gray Jr. of Waldorf, Md., and another man have pleaded guilty in Alexandria, Va., federal court and are scheduled for sentencing next month.
“Identity theft is a serious crime that affects millions of Americans each year,” Bernanke said in a statement. “Our family was but one of 500 separate instances traced to one crime ring. I am grateful for the law enforcement officers who patiently and diligently work to solve and prevent these financial crimes.”
August 28th, 2009 at 10:51 am
Bernanke’s wife’s purse got stolen and they didn’t think to protect themselves from ID theft afterwards?
How stupid is that?
August 28th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Anyone can fall victim to ID theft, but there are actions that can help the full impact on it, for openers don’t carry your SS card with you, nor should one carry there checkbook, only carry one or two credit cards the one you use that day. Having been a banker for over 25 years this is a natural, it should be a super natural for Bernanke.
Will something ever be done about ID theft, don’t hold your breath, the criminal is way ahead of us.
So, we got to use our heads to lower the impact when it happens.
August 28th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Too bad he didn’t have Kroll Background America on his side. They not only help protect ALL five areas of your identity, but with them THEY restore it back to where it was before it was stolen. It is part of their services!! I am glad they are on my side.
August 28th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
THIS HAS BS WRITTEN ALL OVER IT. DAM GOVERNMENT AND CORRUPTION WHEN IS IT GOING TO END. WAKE UP PPL.
August 28th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
B.S……who is responsible for writing checks forged by someone else? Total B.S. article to get him to look like one of us regular people.
August 28th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
I feel for anyone who is a victim of identity theft. It does not matter if you have a high profile job. The bottom line is someone stole his wifes purse and used the information inside to commit a crime. These people need to be behind bars.
August 28th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Well Bernanke say, OH IT WAS A MISTAKE, THE AUTHOR OF THE ARTICLE MADE MISTAKES IN THE ARTICLE, MY WIFE’S PURSE WAS NOT STOLEN…..
When in reality they found out that the people caught their lie…
August 28th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
Watch Bernanke say, OH IT WAS A MISTAKE, THE AUTHOR OF THE ARTICLE MADE MISTAKES IN THE ARTICLE, MY WIFE’S PURSE WAS NOT STOLEN…..
When in reality they found out that the people caught their lie…
August 29th, 2009 at 12:24 am
Do you really think Bernake was a victim of ID theft? This is fake news at its finest. This is just another article in the news where the solution will be Increased Security, that is the solution for almost everything they put in the news, What does this mean?
It means your freedom is taken away bit by bit, Simple as that. Would you give up your freedom for temporary increase security?
This is like another 9/11 where the solution was increasing airport security and putting cameras all over cities, buses… Soon you will have no Freedom, final push towards the RFID chip..
September 8th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
serves the idiot right after ruining the economy…
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Guilty Plea In Bernanke ID Theft Case
Federal prosecutors say an Illinois man has pleaded guilty in an identity theft ring that ensnared Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as a victim.
Forty-nine-year-old Leonardo Darnell Zanders of Dolton, Ill., entered the guilty plea on Monday after several witnesses testified at his trial.
According to testimony and court documents, Zanders directed a nationwide fraud scheme to steal from people and financial institutions.
At trial on Monday, co-defendant Darrell Earl Price testified that Zanders gave him checks in the name of Ben and Anna Bernanke, and Price used those checks in the scheme.
Zanders will be sentenced on Dec. 18.