California IN BRIEF : ANAHEIM : Fraud Ring Broken, Authorities Say

A fraud ring that allegedly bilked banks out of millions of dollars by selling false credit histories was smashed with the arrest of three men, Anaheim police and U.S. Secret Service agents said Thursday. Police said the operators of Crossroads Leasing, which for five years was a front for the ring, would establish false credit histories for their customers for as little as $500 and provide them with dummy addresses, birth certificates, driver’s licenses and Social Security cards. The customers would then use the phony histories and documents to apply for credit cards and credit lines and use those to run up thousands of dollars in charges and cash advances that they never repaid, police said. Arrested were Lee Lowery, 67, of Anaheim; Caleb Ong Chua, 39, of Walnut, and Manuel Lawrence Souza, 70, of Artesia. They each pleaded innocent Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.