Sandy Springs Police Have Arrested a Serial Fraud Suspect With Help From Flock Safety
Sandy Springs Police Have Arrested a Serial Fraud Suspect With Help From Flock Safety
This year alone, Flock Safety has helped solve over 70 crimes in the Atlanta area in conjunction with police, community members, and private citizens.
In April, a Flock-protected neighborhood reached out to report two package thefts. The Sandy Springs police began investigating, and what they found led to this news story by the Marietta Daily Journal.
The Sandy Springs Police Department has arrested a suspect in a serial fraud case, and he may have victimized more residents than those he’s charged with stealing from.
According to a July 17 news release, Officer Hunt, whose first name is not being released to protect her privacy, July 9 started investigating two package thefts from homes in the same area.
“He could be seen getting into a light-colored SUV and leaving the area. The neighborhood had installed a Flock Safety (license plate) reader camera. The camera was able to capture the suspect’s vehicle (an Infiniti FX45) and tag number.”
With that information, detectives added the tag number to the Flock alert system, so whenever a tag reader camera recorded that vehicle passing by, they were sent an alert. July 15, officers located the vehicle after an alert was sent.
“The car was stopped and the driver was identified,” the release stated. “Initially, the driver provided a false name and date of birth with a fraudulent Michigan driver’s license. Officers were able to determine the real identity of the suspect as Matthew Robert Brown, age 34. A search of the suspect’s vehicle yielded eight credit cards with different names, 17 pieces of mail with different names and drugs. Mr. Brown also had multiple warrants from Atlanta Police and Fulton County Police for identify theft, fraud and burglary.”
Police obtained 34 warrants for Brown’s arrest for the following charges: theft by taking, theft by receiving stolen property, financial transaction card fraud, giving a false name and date of birth, identity fraud and drug possession. He was transported to the Fulton County Jail.
Because the police said they believe there will be “numerous victims of identity theft” in this case, anyone with information can contact the detective division at 770-551-6949 or email Sgt. Ortega at sortega@sandyspringsga.gov.
