Couple accused in long-running credit scam

A Michigan couple took advantage of a McHenry man's hospitality to acquire at least a half-dozen credit cards in his name and rack up about $56,000 in charges on them in a long-running identify theft scam, McHenry County Sheriff's police said Wednesday.

Thomas P. Lemieux, 46, and Lisa L. Lemieux, 39, each face one count of aggravated identify theft for what authorities say was a scam they managed to keep undetected for almost three years.

A judge issued $40,000 warrants for their arrests on the felony charges that could land each up to seven years in prison if found guilty.

Sheriff's police say the victim, a 64-year-old man, met and was befriended by Lisa Lemieux while on a Caribbean vacation in July 2004. Several months later she and her husband visited him at his McHenry residence, Detective David Mullen said Wednesday.

"While left alone in the victim's house they rummaged through his belongings and obtained personal identifying information," Mullen said.

The Lemieuxs, Mullen said, used that information to obtain several credit cards in the man's name over the next 2½ years, adding themselves to the list of authorized card users each time.

The couple, sheriff's police said, used the cards to pay off everyday living expenses, as well as airline tickets and a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

The alleged fraud continued unnoticed for almost three years, Mullen said, because they had bills sent to their home, paid the minimum amount owed on the cards and shifted debt from one card to the next when necessary. The suspected thefts were discovered in February when the victim received a call from a credit company about a card application submitted by the Lemieuxs in his name.

"To this day he continues to get calls from credit agencies and bill collectors," Mullen said.

To avoid becoming the victim of an identity theft, the sheriff's department recommends you shred your junk mail, safeguard personal information inside your home and not give out personal information over the phone, through the mail or over the Internet unless you are certain of with whom you are dealing.