Man arrested on identity theft charges

Stephen Curran

Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2004 | 11:13 a.m.

Metro Police on Tuesday arrested a man they believe stole the identities of an untold number of area residents and bilked them out of more than $600,000.

The man, believed to be 39-year-old Robert Hanson, was arrested about 10 p.m. Tuesday after detectives in Metro's financial crimes bureau located him in a home near Fort Apache and Russell roads, Sgt. Chris Jones, a spokesman for the department, said.

An ongoing investigation so far has determined that Hanson, whose exact name was thrown into question after his fingerprints were found to belong to someone with another name, used the name Larry Meadows to get information about his victims' credit card and banking account numbers.

Hanson reportedly gained his victims' trust by telling them his family owned the Meadows mall in Las Vegas, Jones said.

Once he had the information, he used it to charge more than $600,000 for clothes, food and gambling debts, Jones said.

Detectives believe Hanson also victimized a number of bars in southwest Las Vegas, where he was known for being a large tipper.

"It was essentially just a spending spree," Jones said. "Everything he bought, he would use another person's identity. Basically he supported his lifestyle."

Hanson had been booked this morning on eight counts of possession of a credit card without consent.

Detectives had not determined this morning how many people fell victim to the alleged scheme and an ongoing investigation could still turn up more victims, Jones said.

Hanson remained this morning at the Clark County Detention Center, where he is also being held as a fugitive from Idaho, where he was wanted for larceny by deception, according to police.

The crimes underscore a need by area residents to protect their credit card, Social Security and bank account numbers, Jones said.

"We're telling people to do the same things that are proven," he said. "Always keep your credit cards in the same place and don't give your numbers out. If you're ever solicited for that information, don't give it out. It's just the normal things people should do every day."