Immigrant suspected of ID theft
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
By Danielle Quisenberry
dquisenberry@citpat.com


A 29-year-old illegal Kenyan immigrant is facing identity theft charges after a Blackman Township public safety officer found copies of several elderly people's personal information in the rented car he was driving.

Officer Chris Pohl stopped Philip Githuku Macharia after midnight Monday on I-94 near Elm Road for speeding and found Macharia had an outstanding warrant out of Inkster for domestic violence, township public safety Director Mike Jester said.

After Macharia consented to a search of the vehicle, rented from Avis, Pohl found copies of driver licenses, Social Security and insurance cards or other information in a laptop computer bag, Jester said.

He also found credit cards police believed were obtained using the information, Jester said.

Detectives further investigated Monday and found the information belonged to six people -- four from Lansing and two from Grand Haven -- who stay in assisted-living facilities, Jester said. The victims' medical conditions are such that they no longer make decisions for themselves and had authorized others to act on their behalf, the director said.

How Macharia, who has an Inkster address, got access to this information remains under investigation, Jester said.

``I think everyone agrees, it is extremely unfortunate when you have people preying on the elderly,'' he said. ``Something like this could be devastating to them, could really change their quality of life.''

Macharia was taken to the Jackson County Jail and arraigned Tuesday on charges of identity theft and possession of ``personal identification information'' to commit identity theft. Both charges are felonies with maximum penalties of five years in prison, Assistant Prosecutor Jared Hopkins said.

As a result of the criminal activity, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a hold on Macharia, Hopkins said. That means the government could take deportation action against him, Hopkins said.

If that is done before the conclusion of the criminal case, the charges likely would be dismissed.

Jester said it is possible Macharia could be charged elsewhere, such as in Ingham or Ottawa counties, depending on the results of any possible other investigations.

He said Blackman Township alerted the Michigan Intelligence Operations Center, which allows departments statewide to share information.

Macharia told police he was passing through Jackson on his way to Wixom from Kansas City, where he and his passenger went to a baby shower.

The passenger, a Wixom man, is not believed to be involved in the identity theft, Jester said.

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