UCI Police Department honored for identity theft investigation

UC Irvine’s identity theft/IRS tax fraud team has been awarded the second-runner-up prize for investigative excellence by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The team comprised UCI Police Department Sgts. Tony Frisbee, Shaun Devlin and Manse Sinkey and Cpl. Caroline Altamirano; UCI information technology security manager Isaac Straley; and Dallas County district attorney’s investigator Patsy Williams. The award was presented at the IACP annual conference Oct. 6 in Denver. The selection committee complimented the team on its tenacious probe into the 2008 filing of false federal income tax returns using the Social Security numbers of 198 UCI graduate students. A suspect was arrested that July. The winners were chosen from 100 submissions of excellent investigative work.