Contact 6: Identity thief dies while serving sentence in federal prison



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- FOX6's Contact 6 is sharing the story of identity theft that ended when the identity thief died.

A connection between the desire for a perfect body and identity theft might seem far-fetched, but it began when the ID thief stole someone's mail.

"She stole the victim`s info which had been in the mail and she went ahead and contracted various creditors," U.S. Postal Inspector Ivan Ramirez said.

The con artist went on a typical shopping spree, buying furniture, new clothes and other items -- but then made one very large unusual purchase.

"She actually went to a doctor, a medical facility, where she actually charged over $9,000 worth of cosmetic surgery," Ramirez said.

The woman's desire for beauty didn't stop there. The scammer went to what's called a pumping party.

"They would get together at hotels with an unlicensed physician who would pump these customers/patients full of silicone," Ramirez said.

The purpose was to enhance certain body parts.

"The physician was actually utilizing not silicone of the medical kind but silicone that you buy in Home Depot or Lowe's - very deadly and poisonous," Ramirez said.

The identity thief died before she was able to serve out the full 30 months in federal prison -- and she never paid back the $20,000 she stole. The victim in this case is still dealing with the credit issues left behind by the woman who faked her name and paid the ultimate price for fake beauty.