Teen accused of stealing identity of White House cabinet member

By Richard Elliot of WSBTV, Atlanta, GA, 1/5/2012
A Douglas County teenager is facing felony charges after investigators said he stole a senior White House official's social security number and used it to apply online for a credit card. But, those investigators said, the teen had no idea whose social security number he was using.

Austin Townsend, 17, is charged with identity theft after the case was investigated by both the U.S. Secret Service and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, according to officials. Federal agents declined to name the identity of the victim, but said only it was a "senior-level cabinet official."

"He wanted a Discover card and apparently got on the computer and started Googling different areas and ended up with a particular social security number," Douglas County Chief Deputy Stan Copeland said. "He was not Googling any particular person. We don't think he had any knowledge (of who it was)."

Townsend's attorney admitted the teen did use the social security number to apply for that credit card, but also stressed he had no idea who the number belonged to.

"We really just want to let everyone know that Austin is a child," attorney Nicole Jones said. "He went on the internet and got this freely off the internet. He did what children do. We want to say he's not a terrorist, but he was a child surfing the internet and got this."

Investigators said red flags went up after the credit card application successfully went through. A credit agency noticed the social security number and the name didn't match and alerted the Secret Service when it realized who the number belonged to.

Secret Service agents investigated, but turned the case over to Douglas County when they determined it didn't involve a terrorist plot of any kind.

Townsend's attorney hopes people won't judge the teen too harshly.

"He didn't understand," Jones said. "He didn't even know whose social security number it really was. My fear is that if that number was out there, who else's number is on the internet that anyone else can get to?"
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