May 19, 2013
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint from an employee in reference to identity theft. The employee realized his identity had been compromised and filed the complaint on September 24, 2012.
Subsequent investigation developed Bryan Loyd, DOB 8/4/86, of 2218 Anne Avenue, Panama City Beach, as the suspect. Investigators discovered that Loyd, who lived alone, was receiving mail at his Anne Avenue residence using numerous other names, including the name of the BCSO employee.
A search warrant was obtained and served today, November 1, 2012. BCSO investigators found that Loyd had ordered lavish, expensive jewelry, professional grade exercise equipment, and electronics. Also found were several boxes of income tax returns from a local branch of a nationally franchised tax preparation company. The name of this company has not been released as the investigation is still ongoing. Investigators believe Loyd used the tax returns to steal identities and purchase all the merchandise in his apartment. Investigators also seized Loyd’s computer which will be examined forensically.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office will be sending a letter to notify everyone whose tax return was found to be in Loyd’s possession. The letter will include instructions for the potential victim to check their credit and steps to take to protect their identity.
Anyone wishing to learn what they can do to protect against identity theft is encouraged to go to the Federal Trade Commission website www.ftc.gov. Click on Consumer Protection, then Consumer Information, and then the ID Theft, Privacy, and Security Icon.
Loyd was arrested and taken to the Bay County Jail. He was charged with one count of Criminal Use of Personal Identification. The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are expected.
