ID Thieves Muscle In on Cars at Fitness Clubs

An identity-theft ring stalked fitness club parking lots across Southern California and Las Vegas, stealing credit cards, driver’s licenses, passports and checks from at least 300 vehicles over the last few months, authorities said Tuesday.

Detectives said the suspects stumbled upon a gold mine for identity theft: fitness clubs where many members leave their wallets and purses in their cars while going for a quick workout. In one case, a victim lost $20,000 from credit cards and checking accounts.

Sheriff’s officials said they’ve never seen a theft ring quite like it. The suspects allegedly hit fitness clubs as well as schools and golf courses, burglarizing as many 10 cars at a time. Most of the crimes occurred in south Orange County. Three suspects have been arrested.

“They were quick. Reach in, grab and run,” said Mark Simon, a sheriff’s investigator. “With digital cameras and computers, you can make lots of money [from identity thefts]. You can clean them out.”

One victim, Kelly Fickinger of Mission Viejo, said she was away from her car for only 30 minutes when the thieves allegedly struck.

Last month at the Rancho Niguel Tennis Club in Laguna Niguel, she parked next to the courts, then stuffed her purse, Palm Pilot and date book underneath the passenger’s seat.

When she returned, the passenger windows were smashed. She has spent the last few weeks trying to straighten out her financial mess, from stopping direct deposits to ordering credit reports.

“I didn’t think [the thieves] would be looking that close inside my car,” the 39-year-old pharmaceutical representative said. “Now I tell everyone that if their purse is on the floorboard, go get it.... I want others to learn from my mistakes.”

The ring worked undetected until March 24, when a deputy noticed a man and woman in stolen rental cars parked in front of the Lake Forest Lodge.

The deputy found a cache of driver’s licenses and passports in the back seat of the cars, along with pages of marked maps that authorities believe showed future targets.

Authorities then uncovered Costco cards, student identifications, passports from the United States, Mexico and Vietnam, Social Security cards and even a correctional officer’s identification badge, officials said.

The ring is suspected of stealing items, then returning to hotel rooms to print fake checks and identification in the victims’ names.

They would use the identifications to rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars on credit cards and drain bank accounts, authorities allege.

In some cases, the suspects allegedly purchased electronics with the stolen credit cards and returned the items to get cash.

Detectives said they found fax machines, laptops, high-quality printers and software inside the hotel rooms.

“They were pretty organized,” said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Police arrested the alleged ringleader, Brian Roy Hahne, 33, after a brief chase March 25 in Brea. Officials did not release the names of the other two suspects.

They are being held at the Orange County Jail and will be arraigned today at North Justice Center in Fullerton.

Authorities said others who believe they were victims can call the Orange County Sheriff’s Department at (949) 425-1900.