EVERETT — At the bottom of a police report, the Everett detective wrote: “I am asking for an EXCEPTIONAL BAIL ON RYAN SCOTT …”
On Wednesday, he got his wish. For now, anyway.
An Everett District Court judge set bail at $75,000 for the suspected identity thief.
Scott, 42, was arrested for investigation of stealing a car as well as other fraud-related allegations Tuesday.
The arrest came as welcome news to a Colorado man who has been a frequent victim of Scott over the past two decades.
During the summer of 1996, police in Riverside County, Calif., arrested Scott, who had documents with Matthew Frederic’s name on them, including a statement from a fraudulent credit card.
Scott had worked at an auto dealership where Frederic bought a car. Scott stole personal information Frederic had provided to obtain financing, according to court papers.
In 1997, Scott was arrested by Riverside police — this time for possessing methamphetamine and carrying a loaded weapon in public. He tried to pin the rap on Frederic, offering up the other man’s name at booking. Scott’s face and curly locks appear above Matthew Frederic’s name and birthdate in the booking photo.
In 1998, Scott was sentenced to more than three years in prison.
More than 16 years later, police allege that Scott has been using Frederic’s stolen identification again.
Around Christmas 2012, an application on Frederic’s iPhone alerted him of a hit to his credit score. It said he had just bought $1,200 in electronics equipment from a store in Everett.
After that, there was a flurry of attempts to open lines of credit in his name.
Whoever was behind it had a convincing fake ID and did his homework. He could answer security questions, such as Frederic’s wife’s name, and list former addresses.
Frederic has not been Scott’s only victim over the decades.
In February 2007, Scott, then 37, was arrested at an Everett casino after passing bad checks. Police found him in possession of credit cards, identification and checks belonging to three people.
From the backseat of a patrol car, Scott told an Everett police officer that his name was Matthew Frederic.
The real Matthew Frederic said Wednesday he looks forward to meeting Scott some day, ideally in a Snohomish County courtroom.
“I’m ready to get on a plane any time to testify,” he said.
When Scott was arrested Tuesday at a Denny’s, police found him in possession of keys to a stolen car parked in the restaurant’s lot.
Inside his wallet police found what appeared to be a temporary Washington driver’s license issued to a man with a different name. The state Department of Licensing had no such record. The license’s photo closely resembled Scott.
Police also found the license of the owner of the stolen vehicle and a stolen checkbook belonging to a different person.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
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