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6 Charged With ID Theft, $3M Bank Fraud

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal grand jury in Los Angeles has charged six people with an identity theft fraud that cost banks more than $3 million.

The U.S. attorney's office says the jury returned a 29-count bank fraud indictment last week against an Arkansas woman and six associates from Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Carson.

Prosecutors say they stole Social Security numbers and other personal information from people with good credit scores, then used the information to set up phony businesses and obtain more than 70 lines of credit from Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

The money was used for personal expenses.

All six have been arrested. If convicted, they could be could be sentenced to hundreds of years in federal prison.

( Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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