Identity thief targets Dolphins

Cops: Former players, coach, other athletes among victims

An identity thief didn’t steal just anybody’s IDs — he targeted big names such as former Miami Dolphins players Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas and former coach Joe Philbin, Florida officials say.

Michael Watters used the fraudulent IDs to create bogus checks that he used to buy merchandise at places like Home Depot, Target and Best Buy, then would return the goods to the same store at another location for a cash refund, officials said.

A 22-count indictment against Watters named other victims including baseball players Johnny Damon, Jonathan Papelbon and Barry Larkin, tennis player Jennifer Capriati and Orlando Magic player and coach Scott Skiles.

A non-sports celebrity, Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys, was also named.

And Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar had his identity stolen, officials said, although he’s

not sure how his name got linked to the others.

“I think he probably made a mistake,” Kiar said of Watters. “I’m definitely not in a league with those folks.”

Kiar was one of three former state representatives named as having their identities stolen.

Watters, 48, who was arrested Sunday in Seminole County, has a long prison history with fraud-related charges.

Watters was able to write the fraudulent checks because he had the victims’ driver’s license numbers and dates of births, the arrest complaint from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.

The investigation began in September 2015 when Watters’ girlfriend was caught doing drugs in a car parked in a Home Depot parking lot in Altamonte Springs. Watters was in the car and gave officers a fake name, according to the affidavit.

A wallet in the car contained six driver licenses, all with Watters’ photo, but with different names and driver license numbers on each, investigators said. A total of 10 fake licenses, 93 checks worth $21,661 and 343 blank checks were recovered from the car, the complaint said. Police also found nonprinted check paper, a laptop computer and a printer.

The checks were written between December 2013 and August 2015, with most in the months before the search of the car. Officials do not say how Watters obtained the personal identity information.

A motel manager where Watters stayed in 2015 told investigators that Watters told her that he would buy items in a certain store with a check and then return the item to the same store at a different location for cash. Another acquaintance admitted returning a well pump for a refund when Watters asked him to, investigators said.

Watters used Zach Thomas’ information to cash three checks worth $849.63, officials said, while there were a half-dozen blank checks with Jason Taylor’s information on them. There was a counterfeit license for Philbin with Watters’ photo on it, officials said.

Two of the victims, Dorough and professional golfer George McNeill Jr., said they ran into problems with collection agencies because of the counterfeit checks.

Kiar, whose name was used on a $339.74 check, said he has not had any problems because of the incident. He bought a new home in 2016 and he said the alleged identity theft didn’t appear to affect his credit.

“There wasn’t anything to indicate that we were harmed in that way,” Kiar said.

From left: Joe Philbin, Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas were targets of identity theft, police say.