Newsweek reports Ben Bernanke among ID theft victims in a 2.1 million scam

In an article on its website Newsweek magazine reported that Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke was among hundreds of victims of an identity fraud ring that stole more than $2.1 million from consumers and financial institutions across the United States.

Bernanke and his wife fell prey to a gang of criminals when her purse, with personal checks inside, was snatched at a coffee shop in August 2008, according to the recently filed court documents cited by Newsweek.

After some time someone started cashing checks on the Bernanke family bank account, a crime that became part of a wide-ranging federal identity theft investigation that was already underway.

Behind the curtains were members of a nationwide ring that used a combination of old-fashioned thievery and high-tech fraud to loot the bank accounts of unsuspecting victims. In recent months the investigation conducted by the Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service was marked with a number of arrests, criminal complaints and indictments brought by federal prosecutors in Virginia.

In a statement to Newsweek, Bernanke said identity theft is a serious crime that affects millions of Americans each year and expressed his gratitude to the federal investigators who prosecute such kind of crimes.