Identity Theft Gold Mine Left On Brooklyn Street

A Brooklyn resident walking his dogs on Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill found files containing the personal information—including Social Security numbers and other confidential information—of hundreds of people. Luckily, he called WABC 7 Eyewitness News; Nat Hendricks explained, "The first one, I saw a person's name and address and date of birth, social security number and I closed the file." Eyewitness News found out the files were from a lawyer who had moved out of his office; the lawyer left the files, so his landlord just dumped them on the street! The common thread found was the name of the lawyer, Neda Imasuen, whose registration status is delinquent; Imasuen's landlord admitted he put the boxes on the street on Saturday and claims he scheduled them to be picked up on Sunday. Lawyers are supposed to be responsible for properly getting rid of files; identity theft experts suggest that clients ask their lawyers how their files are destroyed—or to request them back. And now the Attorney General's office is investigating, too.