Warrants Issued For Man Accused In Thefts Targeting Seniors

RENTON, WA — King County investigators are working to track down a 27-year-old man accused of stealing thousands of dollars from seniors in Renton, Bellevue and Tukwila. According to King County prosecutors, Georgio Christoper Stevens is named in 13 felony charges, largely related to identity theft.

The Renton Police Department filed nine of the cases between January and May, and the Bellevue Police Department filed one in January and another in February. The prosecutor's office said Stevens was initially booked into King County Jail in March but was granted temporary release over prosecutors' objections in late May to complete a substance abuse treatment program. He was due back at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent on June 23 and failed to show up, prosecutors said.

On Wednesday, the prosecutor's office and Renton police described how several seniors fell victim to a scam that compromised their debit card information.

Dave Leibman, a Renton police commander, said each crime followed the same framework, with the suspect causing minor damage to a victim's parked car while they are away, then waiting for them to return and offering to repair it for a small fee, under the guise of representing a local business.

Once they agreed to the "repair," prosecutors said he would ask for a debit card and run it through a card reader, asking them to enter their pin, which was visible as a plain number. After making an excuse to leave, police said he would use the stolen information to siphon money out of ATMs, often amounting to thousands of dollars.

The victims in each case were seniors, and some had disabilities with vehicles showing corresponding placards or license plates, prosecutors said.

"The heart of the matter is that he's victimizing, he's targeting people he feels are going to be vulnerable," Leibman said. "These folks that he's targeting are the people who can least afford to lose that kind of money. We've just got to get him off the street."

Since Stevens' release and subsequent failure to appear, Renton police said they lost track of him and became aware of at least one more incident on July 4 that may be related.

Including the latest case, Leibman estimated the victims had lost more than $20,000 combined. Police also believe there may be more victims who have not come forward and encourage anyone who encountered a similar scam to make a formal report. A judge signed arrest warrants related to the case on June 24.