Psych T.A.: graded papers, stole identities

Patrick Bareiss, BR '99, and William Stewart, BK '99, knew they'd learn about identity development theories when they enrolled in Professor Todd Little's Adolescent Psychology class last spring. What they didn't know was that one of the teaching assistants was using the theories quite literally.

Thomas W. Brown, GRD '02, obtained the Social Security numbers of several students and psychology department faculty members and used the names and numbers to open credit card and bank accounts. On Fri., Aug. 13, he pleaded guilty to "attempts to defraud," and admitted that he racked up at least $120,000 of credit on his fraudulent accounts. Brown is awaiting his sentencing in prison, which will take place on Mon., Nov. 1. He faces charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and the assumption of the identity of another person. The charges could send him to prison for up to 10 years and land him $250,00 in fines. He may also have to pay restitution of up to $200,000.

What troubles Brown's victims is that what seemed like a complicated scheme to steal identities turned out to be a surprisingly simple task that was aided by the victims themselves. Bareiss remembered that during the midterm in the course the students were asked to write down their Yale ID numbers—and thus their social security numbers—on the top of the test. "[The T.A.'s] told us this would let us confidentially view our grades later. I know that my Yale ID is the same number as my social security number. But I didn't think twice about writing it down. We throw that number around all the time," Bareiss said.

Incredibly, neither Bareiss nor Stewart had any clue that Brown had opened accounts in their names until the postal inspector and Yale Police Detective Rainville informed them they were victims of fraud this past June. Both are angered and shocked at having been swindled. Bareiss said that it took him about 20 days to sort out the extensive mess with various credit agencies and banks. He fumed, "That cakehole used my name to gain credit. I now have worse credit than Russia!"

"I never got any statements about this account," Bareiss explained. "Brown seems to have arranged for the bills and account information to get sent to his home, so I had no idea that it existed and that my credit was being wrecked until the postal inspector called me."

The Administration said that they will not change the way in which they assign student numbers. The faculty, Administration, and police also declined comment about the criminal and University investigations. Jerome Singer, head of the graduate department of psychology, simply said, "As far as I know there is a federal investigation taking place, there is an account that Brown opened in the name of the late Professor William Kessen."

Professor Kessen had, in fact, died on Sat., Feb. 6 from a cerebral hemorrhage. However, Brown had continued to incur charges on the account even after the death. Professor Kessen's widow, Marion, testified in an affidavit that she had no knowledge of this account.

"It just shocks me that someone from Yale would do this," Bareiss said. "I don't know who he is and what compelled him to do it. He had to know he could get caught. It seems so self-destructive."

According to court records, Brown had a history of engaging in self-destructive activity. A Branford Police Department report dated Tues., May 18, describes a police visit to Brown's home on 10 Pawson Road in Branford, Conn. An affidavit filed by Branford Police Officer Daniel J. Travisano stated, "At that location, [the officers] found Thomas W. Brown, who appeared highly intoxicated, incoherent, and bleeding from his ear. Brown stated that he was depressed based upon marital difficulties he was having with his wife." Brown will be detained before his trial, and remains in jail due to his "proven track record reflecting that he will engage in such criminal conduct if released," according to U.S. District Attorney Stephen Robinson.

"It's nice to know that he's in jail," Bareiss said. "He didn't really hurt me so much, but what he did was wrong."

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