A total of ten individuals were charged last week for their alleged involvement in a massive identity theft ring that operated in the Washington DC metropolitan area . According to the indictment , Blalock and Bush recruited women to steal personal information from the companies they worked for . The scheme , which was running since at least January 2012 , has made at least 600 victims , including overseas - based employees of the US Department of State , the US Department of Defense , and the US Agency for International Development . The information stolen from companies such as a car rental firm , an insurer and a local dental practice was used to manufacture fraudulent identification documents that were later utilized to open credit lines on behalf of the victims . ;