Arrest Made in U.S. Theft Ring that Hit Bernankes

By Jane Sutton
Sep 1, 2009

MIAMI (Reuters) - A woman described by a federal agent as a heroin addict with a stash of wigs was arrested in Miami on charges of being part of an identity theft ring that targeted the wife of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Shonya Michelle Young of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was arrested Monday night at a hotel near Miami International Airport on a warrant charging her with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, U.S. Marshals spokesman Barry Golden said Tuesday.

Young is charged in Virginia with being part of a theft ring that stole millions of dollars from the bank accounts of hundreds of people nationwide. Among them was Anna Bernanke, the wife of the Fed chief, whose purse containing checks from the couple's account was stolen from a Washington coffee shop. ...

It was unclear how much money was stolen from the Bernankes. Court documents, which identified victims only by their initials, said another defendant had fraudulently drawn $900 from the personal account of "BB." ...

CONTINUED: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE58052L20090901