LYNNWOOD – A rock star wannabe with a taste for luxury cars and high-end stores is financing his heavy metal lifestyle with stolen credit cards and fake identities, police say.
Scott C. Moughton, 43, also known as “Rock Star Scott,” is topping the Lynnwood Police Department’s “Most Wanted” list.
Police say it’s likely that Moughton is claiming to be a former member of the Bellevue-based rock band Queensryche.
He has told investigators he was once famous, but since his split from the band he has been homeless, hungry and desperate, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Walter Sowa wrote in court documents last year on an unrelated matter.
Band officials say Moughton played guitar on Queensryche lead singer Geoff Tate’s solo album in 2002, but has never been a part of the band.
Moughton is wanted on several felony outstanding warrants for his arrest for identity theft, possession of a controlled substance and forgery.
Police also believe Moughton recently struck in Lynnwood.
They are asking for the public’s help to find him and believe he often talks about his connection to Queensryche, Lynnwood police spokeswoman Shannon Sessions said.
“We just want him,” she said.
Investigators say Moughton used a stolen identification to buy a $71,000 Lexus in May from a dealership in Lynnwood, Sessions said.
Detectives believe Moughton was pre-approved for a credit line over the Internet using the victim’s personal information.
The victim didn’t know about the crime until he received payment plans in the mail about a month later, Sessions said. Everett police found the car a short time later.
Lynnwood police also want to speak with Moughton about stolen credit cards recently used to make purchases at Nordstrom at Alderwood mall. He was videotaped on the store’s security cameras, Sessions said.
Moughton was indicted on federal charges three years ago in connection with a major identity theft ring.
At that time, police found bags of stolen mail, passports, driver’s licenses and equipment to make identification cards in Moughton’s Bothell apartment. The manager there reported that Moughton said he was living off $80,000 in royalties from his music, court papers said.
The charges against Moughton were dropped after evidence was thrown out because of a problem with the search warrant, said Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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