South Holland man charged with making over $620,000 buying and selling vehicles using stolen IDs

A South Holland man is facing charges after he allegedly used stolen personal identification to buy and sell $620,000 worth of used vehicles in three states, the Illinois attorney general's office announced Thursday.

Stephen Walker, 34, is accused of using stolen identification to buy 11 vehicles from dealers in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.

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Walker allegedly used the identification to apply for financing through the dealership and would have the vehicles delivered to hospitals in Cook and Will counties, where he claimed he worked as a surgical nurse, officials said.

He would then resell the vehicles on Facebook Marketplace using a fraudulent Arkansas title listing different names and vehicles bearing the same control number - making over $620,000, officials said.

Walker was arrested and charged Thursday with 18 counts of the possession of a stolen motor vehicle, 10 counts of money laundering, 10 counts of the unlawful possession of a certificate of title and one count of theft by deception, officials said.

He is facing up to 380 years in prison, officials said.

Walker pleaded not guilty to all charges and will appear in court Nov. 14.

The Illinois secretary of state's office referred the case to the attorney general's office.

"The collaboration between my office and Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias's office is a step toward justice for the people whose personal information was allegedly stolen and used to purchase vehicles, as well as the individuals whose only mistake was to try to purchase a vehicle online. I look forward to continuing these types of partnerships to protect our residents from fraud," Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a statement.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire - Copyright Chicago Sun-Times 2024.)