A woman suspected of being a participant in a nation-wide identity theft ring has been arrested in Chicago on a Jefferson County warrant. Andrea Harris-Frazier, 54, was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury in February 2010. She is in Chicago pending extradition.

Harris-Frazier was indicted on 43 counts of Theft of over $15,000, Forgery and Attempted Theft. There were 28 victims named in the indictment.

Between November 2006 and May 2009, Harris-Frazier is alleged to have illegally transacted fraudulent financial documents at numerous banks in Jefferson County and throughout the metro Denver area. According to the indictment, she went into banks, used fake identification cards and drivers’ licenses to make deposits, and withdrew thousands of dollars from the victims’ accounts. Many of the victims had their purses or wallets stolen, often in other states.

This investigation began in November 2006 when Wheat Ridge Police took a complaint from Margot Somerville regarding money being stolen from her bank account. Somerville lived in San Francisco, but was visiting family in Wheat Ridge where the money was taken from her account. 

Early in the investigation, evidence led police and the District Attorney’s Office to believe that Somerville was involved in the theft and she was charged. The case was eventually dismissed.

According to District Attorney Scott Storey, “Although Ms. Somerville was initially a suspect in this identity theft case and was charged, she is no longer suspected of having any involvement in this crime. The continuing investigation resulted in the indictment and arrest of Andrea Harris-Frazier and established that Ms. Somerville is a victim in this case.”

Harris-Frazier is being held in the Cook County, Illinois jail on the Jefferson County warrant with bond set in the amount of $200,000.