A former University of Georgia employee has been arrested and charged with stealing students’ personal information to obtain credit cards.
Police say 30-year-old Derrick Leon Henderson of Athens used his position in the university’s registrar’s office to help himself to information gleaned from paper records to open credit cards. Henderson is charged with 42 counts of identity fraud and 19 counts of financial card fraud, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office arrested Henderson after several UGA students filed complaints of credit card fraud. A 2nd suspect is still being sought in the case.
University Police Chief Jimmy Williamson tells the AJC that Henderson stole the personal information of 160 students. “He would open up credit cards in his name and use other people’s personal information.” Williams said.
Williams said his office also followed up on reports of credit card fraud from the Neiman Marcus fraud unit.
According to Onlineathens.com, UGA police obtained search warrants to search Henderson’s home on Jan. 31. Investigators seized all of Henderson’s electronic devices during the search.
“Through our investigation, we feel like we have recovered the majority, if not all of the data,” Williams said.
According to Williams, Henderson used the fraudulently obtained credit cards to purchase clothing, shoes and electronics.
Henderson was hired as a student to work in the registrar’s office last year. He was fired by the university after the breach was discovered. Henderson was not a registered student when he was fired.
University officials are in the process of notifying students of the breach.
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