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Woman Says She Didn't Steal Daughter's Identity

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By KRISTA KLAUS | News Channel 8

Published: January 6, 2009

A Gibsonton woman accused of stealing her 7-year-old daughter's identity to open a credit card account pleaded not guilty in Hillsborough County district court today.

Trinity Moisa, 33, faces felony charges of grand theft and fraudulent use of personal information after her estranged husband discovered a Capital One credit card account opened in their daughter's name. According to court documents, more than $1,000 had been charged to the account, which was hundreds of dollars over its credit limit and six months past due.

"My heart dropped, I couldn't believe it," said John Moisa, who became suspicious when he received correspondence from the credit card company addressed to his daughter. "At first I didn't think about it until my mom said she was getting collection calls at her house."

Moisa called the credit card company, which wouldn't initially talk to him until he faxed proof of his daughter's age. Moisa said he's spent the past several months trying to repair the girl's credit.

"It was unpaid, past-due bills, so it didn't look good," Moisa said.

According to security expert Steven Purl, up to a half million children a year have their identities stolen, and close relatives are often involved.

"The majority of cases involve parents who may be going through a tricky time, going through a divorce and looking for additional credit," said Purl, Chief Operating Officer for Grand ISS, a St. Petersburg-based investigative security firm.

Purl said with more people out of work, identity theft cases involving young children are likely to increase.

"I think we're going to see more crime in general, as money is more tight for people. We've seen that with credit card fraud and white-collar crime. It's an easy way to make money," Purl said.

Sgt. David Fleet of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said the case is new to him.

"It's the first one I've seen where a parent used a child's identity to obtain credit," Fleet said.

Trinity Moisa's aunt, Mary Dygert, suggested that John Moisa trumped up the identity theft case to benefit financially. "He will do anything not to pay child support," Dygert wrote in an e-mail today.

Police said that's not the case.

"There is evidence. This isn't just based on hearsay testimony of one person," Sgt. Fleet said.
Security experts recommend the following three Ways to Protect Your Child's Identity:

• Make sure school identification card doesn't have birthdate or social security number

• Keep a close eye on the mail for credit card offers addressed to your child

• Check your child's credit report when you check your own

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