Baton Rouge man uses credit-repair company to steal 300 identities, $5 million

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A Baton Rouge man has been arrested and charged with racketeering after being accused of stealing more than 300 identities and $5 million in a nation-wide financial fraud scheme. Attorney General James D. "Buddy" Caldwell says many of the identities stolen are those of children.

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Donald Lonnell Batiste, 24, of Baton Rouge, is charged with using his Baton Rouge-based credit-repair company to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity, including theft, identity theft and money laundering.

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"Through this bogus company, hundreds of social security numbers were stolen and then sold to customers who were trying to legitimately improve their credit and obtain loans," Attorney General Caldwell said. "As a result, millions of dollars have been illegally squandered in the form of bank loans, automobile purchases and credit lines on clothing and jewelry."

According to officials, Batiste provided bogus "credit repair" services for a fee through his company, Best, Inc., to individuals with poor credit. As part of the service, Batiste sold Credit Profile Numbers, or CPNs, which he described as nine-digit numbers similar to social security numbers that could be used to assist customers in obtaining lines of credit.

Upon receipt of a CPN, customers were instructed to insert the CPN in the section of the loan or credit card application that requested a Social Security number in order to be approved for the line of credit. Many victims of Batiste’s fraud claimed they were convinced that his business was legitimate based upon receipt of their new credit cards.

In reality, the CPNs Batiste sold to his customers were the active Social Security numbers of hundreds of individuals across the nation, according to information obtained during the investigation.

Batiste is accused of purchasing more than 300 stolen Social Security numbers for around $75 each from an online supplier. He then allegedly turned around and sold them to clients as CPNs for between $130 and $500. According to Caldwell, many of the social security numbers belonged to children.

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