Edmond Police Arrest Suspected Identity Thief During Traffic Stop

Edmond police think they’ve tapped into a widespread identity theft ring all because of a routine traffic stop. 

Police pulled over a car for speeding last week. Officers smelled pot inside, so they searched the car and the passenger 35-year-old Kristina Marie Wilson, of Sacramento.

"She had an ace bandage strapped to her midsection,” said Edmond police spokeswoman Jenny Wagnon. “Envelopes that had cash in it. There was $15,000 in cash."  

Investigators think the cash was illegally withdrawn from a Bank of America branch in Edmond. 

In the car, police also found five driver's licenses.

"The passenger, her picture was on all five of those licenses, and then credit cards matched the names of those drivers’ licenses," Wagnon said.

Police think Wilson and a male driver, who was not charged, are part of a highly sophisticated identity theft ring.  

“They fly in a female to a specific state for about a week at a time. They pick them up at the airport, usually stay at a hotel by the airport, and then they just drive around the town with these ID's going bank to bank," Wagnon said. 

Cashing hundreds of dollars in bogus checks.

"This one specific female, we can link to five states where she's been doing this,” Wagnon said. “One bank, in fact, claims that they're out more than $180,000 due to her and another bank, more than $40,000."

Wilson faces a long list of charges.