‘Identity theft lab’ found inside trailer lands Washington man behind bars, feds say

A Washington man sentenced to 90 months in prison on identity theft charges had a fully equipped mobile lab in a trailer for his enterprise, federal officials reported.

Ryan M. Tichy, 43, of Seattle, was sentenced Thursday, March 16, in the case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Idaho said in a news release.

Tichy stole the identities of numerous people from May 2018 through November 2020, the release said.

He used their information to “create false identification documents open credit accounts, obtain loans, take over existing credit accounts, and make purchases,” prosecutors said.

He made the “fraudulent purchases” across Idaho, Washington and other western states.

When federal authorities served a search warrant in December 2020, they discovered a “mobile identity theft lab” inside a trailer, the release said.

The trailer, purchased under a stolen identity, contained computers, printers and other equipment for producing counterfeit identity cards, prosecutors said.

Investigators also found “foils, blank stock for driver’s licenses, an embosser, a card punch, printers, counterfeit driver’s licenses in various stages of completion, and counterfeit credit cards,” the release said.

“Mr. Tichy is a prolific identity thief who victimized dozens of individuals and businesses after cutting off his ankle monitor while under federal supervised release following his time spent in prison for prior identify-theft related offenses,” Gail S. Ennis, inspector general for the Social Security Administration, said in the release.

A judge sentenced Tichy to 90 months in federal prison on charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, prosecutors said.

This story was originally published March 16, 2023 at 2:18 PM with the headline "‘Identity theft lab’ found inside trailer lands Washington man behind bars, feds say."