Two prolific identity thieves involved in separate operations investigated by Bellevue Police and surrounding law enforcement agencies were sentenced in early December, according to an announcement by the police department.
Patrick McCabe was sentenced to 25 months in prison and received another 25 months probation under a drug offense sentencing program in King County Superior Court for 13 counts of identity theft, stemming from a sophisticated operation he’d ran through his Bellevue condominium until it was discovered by police in July.
Bellevue Police uncovered McCabe’s identity theft operation at the Hidden Creek Condominiums after responding to a report of stolen signs seen on his patio on July 7. Four people were arrested there, but McCabe eluded capture for two more weeks.
A search warrant served on McCabe’s condo produced counterfeit checks, state driver’s licenses, Social Security cards and debit and credit cards, as well as multiple computers, scanners, copiers, a laminator and a card-making machine. According to police reports, personal and financial information linked to more than 100 victims were also found.
A tip following McCabe’s feature on “Washington’s Most Wanted” led police to his parents’ house in Richland, just missing the 43-year-old fugitive by a matter of hours. He was eventually arrested in the Tri-Cities on July 30.
Paul Bauer, 41, was sentenced to more than eight years in prison on 15 counts of first-degree identity theft, having stolen personal information from victims in King, Snohomish, Pierce, Thurston and Kitsap counties and using it to set up various lines of credit. He reportedly racked up more than $200,000 in fraudulent transactions, using the stolen identities of at least 16 victims.
Bellevue Police joined a joint investigation into Bauer after he was linked to an identity theft case last January, using the personal and financial information of a Bellevue man to open up lines of credit and make nearly $18,000 in fraudulent transactions.
A tip led police to a credit union in Tukwila, where Bauer was arrested on March 6. Bauer allegedly told an investigating Bellevue detective he felt his crimes were victimless, because financial institutions and retailers would ultimately take the financial hit.
