Golden Valley Woman a Victim of Identity Theft, Credit Card Fraud

A Plymouth woman has been charged with stealing a discarded passport from a trash bin in Golden Valley, opening online accounts and ordering more than $2,000 worth of merchandise.

Jaime Lynn Chapman, 35, is charged in Dakota County with two felonies: identity theft and credit-card fraud, each of which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim, who lives in Golden Valley, reported to police last Dec. 22 that someone had apparently opened several online accounts in her name.

The woman said she learned about the fraud when she received demand-for-payment letters. The bills were $658 from Bill Me Later, $536 from Amazon.com and $1,549 from Kohl's.

The victim told police that the purchases were made between Oct. 1 and Dec. 21, 2011.

Golden Valley police investigated and received the online address used to open the Kohl’s account, and the delivery address that the suspect used.

Police discovered that the purchases were made from a computer in Eagan and that the merchandise was being delivered to Chapman’s Plymouth address.

Officers interviewed Chapman, who admitted that she had gone “Dumpster diving” at an apartment building and found the victim’s old passport and Social Security number, according to the complaint.

Chapman said she took the victim’s personal information with her to her job in Eagan, and used her work computer to create the accounts and make purchases in the amount of $2,807, the complaint says.

Because Chapman is accused of making the purchases in Eagan, the case was filed in Dakota County.

Chapman is scheduled to make a first appearance on the charges Oct. 1 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.