‘It’s the new crime wave’: North Texas firefighter has identity stolen, cars bought in his name in Houston

HOUSTON – A North Texas firefighter isn’t fighting fires but fraud after someone stole his identity and then used it to buy several cars in the Houston area.

“The last time I was in Houston was probably when I played college baseball,” Shelby Ford, a Fort Worth-area firefighter, told only KPRC 2.

That’s why it came as a big surprise when his parents received mail for him from a loan company for a car bought in his name in the Houston area.

“It kind of started as a joke, like, ‘I didn’t know you bought a car?’” he said.

He didn’t even know his identity had been stolen until he received the mail. The joke turned into a big headache.

“It makes you panic because, you know, you don’t want it to hit you in areas where it’s going to kind of scrap you and your everyday life,” Ford said.

Brazoria County Sheriff’s investigators are now asking for the public’s help to identify one of the people they say is responsible, and might be involved in several other cases across Texas.

According to the sheriff’s office, the woman and a man, who hasn’t been publicly identified, walked into Southfork Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Pearland in late October and left with not one but two new cars.

“One was a Dodge Charger, the other was a Dodge Challenger,” Sgt. Clint Lobpries said. “The female suspect specifically presented fraudulent identifying information of our victim to the dealership.”

Someone at the dealership called the sheriff’s office in January when the system flagged a fraudulent purchase.

But that was after someone tried to buy a third car, a Mercedes Benz, in Ford’s name at a southwest Houston CarMax in November. The case is being investigated by Houston police and the same suspects are not currently linked to it.

“It’s the new crime wave, it seems like,” Sgt. Lobpries said. “Your information, whether you think it or not, it’s out there.”

The bogus buys dropped Ford’s credit score a couple of hundred points. He froze his credit and now watches his credit report even closer.

“You can never be too safe these days,” he said. “Feeling that peace of mind, that normalcy coming back is, you know, it really makes you feel good.”

After filing police reports and disputes with the loan companies, he is no longer on the hook for the three cars.

Anyone who recognizes the woman investigators believe is responsible should call Brazoria County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-460-2222 or submit a tip online.