Texan jailed for identity theft after stop in Baldwin County

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – A traffic stop on Interstate 10 in Baldwin County early Tuesday morning, August 27, 2024, ended with the arrest of a Houston man on identity theft charges. Officers said he was carrying thousands of dollars worth of forged and stolen checks, fake IDs and credit cards, and even stolen Social Security cards.

“The deputy initially stopped her for a traffic violation and smelled marijuana,” said Captain Clint Cadenhead of the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office.

This happened around 2:00 a.m. on I-10 West near the 47-mile marker. A deputy with the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office Special Operations Unit had reasonable suspicion to search the vehicle and found dozens of stolen and counterfeit items, according to investigators.

“They take the information and transfer it to another card or ID, a name, and so on and so forth,” Cadenhead added.

Officers arrested Michael Allan McMath, 33, of Houston. Investigators said McMath claimed to be in the Pensacola area. They said the forged or stolen checks alone were valued at over $13,000.

“If someone has a valid ID, they know they're a good person, good identification, etc. Then they can take that information and open different accounts and then the forgery occurs when they write checks on those accounts,” Cadenhead explained.

Investigators said they have already contacted some victims who reported that their driver's licenses, credit cards or checks had been stolen from their vehicles. Because this type of crime involves a huge financial stake, officials are becoming more and more aware of it.

“We see that quite a lot on the highway. That's a big deal, especially at tax time,” Cadenhead warned. “We see that a lot. If you have a good… they have a good ID from somebody, they can actually go back and file your taxes.”

Law enforcement also sees an increase in these types of crimes during the holiday season. Michael McMath is charged with trafficking in stolen identities and two counts of possession of a forged document, all of which are felonies. No charges have been filed against a second man in the car. The Secret Service and U.S. Postal Service are also investigating.

Copyright 2024 WALA. All rights reserved.