Sheriff’s deputies and federal agents say they may have broken up a major identity theft ring when they arrested three people at a Bothell-area apartment, confiscated bags of stolen mail and found 40 pieces of stolen or false identification.
Found were passports and the identification of people from California, Oregon, Colorado and Washington, court papers say. The identifications of two FBI agents also were found, documents say.
The three suspects appeared Wednesday in Everett District Court. Scott Christopher Moughton, 40, and Thomas F. Sproul, 46, were held on $250,000 bail each. Elizabeth R. Hoefert, 24, Moughton’s girlfriend, was held on $2,000 bail.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Chris Dickinson said the woman’s face appeared on some of the documents.
Defense attorney Michael Magee argued there wasn’t enough evidence to hold Hoefert on as many as 40 charges, so her bail was reduced.
Moughton told his apartment manager and others he had been associated with a popular Seattle heavy metal band and earned royalties from recordings.
The three were arrested Tuesday after deputies nabbed another two men they believed were involved in mail thefts at an apartment complex in the Thrasher’s Corner area. The two told deputies they had been in Moughton’s apartment in the 18900 block of Bothell-Everett Highway and watched him make an identification card on his computer.
The men said Moughton had a laptop computer, printers and other equipment to make checks, Social Security cards and identifications. One of the men said up to 40 people daily brought Moughton stolen mail, and he particularly liked bank cards, court papers say.
Sheriff’s records indicate Moughton had an outstanding warrant for civil contempt and a warrant for escape from community custody, documents say.
Moughton claimed he was a member of the heavy metal band Queensryche, telling his apartment manager he was living off $80,000 in royalties from his music, court papers say.
A guitarist named Scott Moughton performed with Queensryche lead singer Geoff Tate on Tate’s self-titled 2002 solo album, but Moughton never played with Queensryche, band manager Susan Tate said.
The guitarist disappeared after the Tate group’s last performance in 2002, she said, and band members worried that he had died.
"It’s good to know he’s alive," said Susan Tate, wife of Geoff Tate.
Moughton was never entitled to royalties from Queensryche, and for the second half of 2003 earned about $200 in royalties from Tate’s solo album, the band’s accountant said.
Besides sheriff’s deputies, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI and Lynnwood police are investigating.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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