A Pittsburgh man has been arrested and faces more than 200 counts of identity theft and related charges.
According to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office, 33-year-old Cornelius P. Tucker was charged after detectives discovered more than $100,000 in online credit transactions from local Lowe’s and Giant Eagle stores. Investigators stated that they had been hunting for Tucker for “quite some time” before his arrest on July 3.
“This defendant placed hundreds of online orders, under the names and accounts of unsuspecting victims, then fenced the goods to buyers on Facebook,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said. “This arrest resulted from a meticulous investigation by our Organized Retail Crime Unit, which would not have been possible without a network of collaborating partners committed to stopping these sophisticated schemes.”
In their investigation, authorities said Tucker used the identities of hundreds of people to place the orders. He utilized these stolen identities to purchase power equipment, home security products, and other stuff, which he subsequently marketed on his Facebook page, “Pittsburgh Stamps.” The operation specifically targeted stores in Allegheny, Beaver, Crawford, Washington, and Westmoreland counties.
The Attorney General’s Organized Retail Crime Unit will prosecute the cases. The Attorney General’s Organized Retail Crime Unit will prosecute the cases.