
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, October 2, 1994                   TAG: 9410030080
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: D-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE                                LENGTH: Medium

EX-UVA STUDENTS HELD IN ID SCAM

Three former University of Virginia students have been charged in what police said was a stolen student identification card and fraudulent check scheme that operated in two states.

Police at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said the ring was based in Charlottesville and involved several former members of Alpha Phi Alpha, a service fraternity at the University of Virginia that was suspended in 1992 after a hazing incident.

Investigators believe the students stole about 400 UNC-Chapel Hill ID cards in January to pass stolen or counterfeited checks and to get state ID cards in North Carolina and Virginia.

North Carolina authorities on Wednesday charged Canu DiBona, 21, of Durham, N.C., with one count of felony financial transaction card theft. Marcus A. Tucker, 23, of Charlottesville, was arrested Sept. 15 on several charges, including felony financial transaction card theft and two counts of forgery.

Authorities said Phillipe Zamore, 21, also of Charlottesville, also was implicated in the scheme. He was arrested in April and charged with felony larceny after attempting to use an illegally obtained credit card at a University of Virginia bookstore.

Authorities said more arrests are expected.

Investigators said the cards reportedly have turned up as far away as New York and Florida. Near the UNC-Chapel Hill campus alone, the ring has issued up to $20,000 in bad checks, Lt. Clay Williams of the campus police said.

Police said members of the alleged ring used sophisticated equipment to read information on magnetic tape on the backs of the IDs, and even printed their own checks with a laser printer.

``All these kids are smart - that's what's striking about this,'' Williams said. ``We have very intelligent young men - extremely computer literate, highly articulate - that could be upstanding professionals in the community, but instead they chose the lure of fast money.''

Williams said members of the group used the money to buy everything from groceries to athletic gear to lingerie for their girlfriends. They set up bank accounts, opened post office boxes and purchased beepers, he said.

by CNB