Deputies say accused ID thief may have more victims

HENDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — A woman is jailed on accusations of identity theft involving at least five victims, and deputies say there may be even more.

Stacey Stines

What looks like junk mail has Henderson County deputies investigating the case of suspected fraud and identity theft.

Investigators say 40-year-old Stacey Stines attempted to steal the identities of at least five people.

One of her alleged victims is a 2-year-old toddler. Another is a jailed inmate at the Henderson County Correctional Complex.

Deputies say Stines used two mailing addresses, one of which was a vacant home.

Officers say a paper trail of decline letters from credit card companies in numerous mailboxes led them to Stines.

But it wasn’t until a man living in Florida — who also owns a home in Henderson County — contacted the sheriff’s office to report fraudulent activity in his name that investigators realized there was a credit card creeper lurking in town.

“She went as far as to contact his ex-wife in New York, whom he’s been divorced from for 19 years, asking for his phone number claiming to be someone trying to send a FedEx package,” said Capt. Tracey Grisham with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department.

Despite putting a freeze on accounts, deputies say one victim is still contacted daily with unsolicited offers.

“He told me there’s been more than 50 times in the past month,” Grisham said.

Investigators say so far the only purchase they have linked to Stines is for gas.

Records show Stines is being held without bond at the Henderson County Criminal Justice Complex.