Crime & Safety

Police Arrest Identity Theft Suspect

A four-month long investigation ends in the arrest of one person and information on others in an identity theft ring.

Scotts Valley Police have arrested a man involved in an identity theft ring responsible for several hundred thousand dollars in stolen items.

Michael Buck, 43, was arrested in Las Vegas after a four-month investigation that involved agencies at the city, county and state level, according to Scotts Valley Police. The investigation began as a cooperative effort between the SVPD and the Santa Cruz Police Department, but quickly expanded to include Santa Cruz County, Capitola, San Francisco and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

According to the SVPD, Buck used a multitude of different aliases and co conspirators to establish an organized criminal conspiracy responsible for identity theft and misappropriation of funds.

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The investigation is still ongoing and has yielded information about the other suspects but so far Buck is the only arrest.

The SVPD are asking that anyone with information on this crime call 831-440-5670.

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