Attorney General Chris Koster and Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters Baker have filed 17 felony charges against Terry Lee Morrow, Jr. for a year-long identity-theft scam which spanned two states and involved more than $1 million in fraudulent car loans.

Koster says the case appears to be the largest identity-theft prosecution ever brought by state prosecutors in Missouri.

The complex identity-theft scam arose out of the operation of Edge Auto Sales, a Blue Springs and Independence auto dealership owned by Morrow. Koster says Morrow acquired sensitive personal information about his victims through Edge Auto’s car sales and through online applications for auto financing. Morrow allegedly used the victims’ information to forge dozens of fraudulent auto loans for car sales that actually never occurred. Koster alleges that Morrow then sold each of these fraudulent loans to automotive finance companies, who bought the rights to collect on the loan for a lump sum payment to Morrow.

The Missouri Attorney General’s investigation of Morrow stemmed from a tip from a consumer who had discovered the fake car loan on her credit report. Before the investigation began in 2012, Morrow had already fled from Missouri to Illinois, where he created another dealership, Silver Star Motors. Through this new dealership, Morrow reused identities of his Jackson County victims in addition to selecting new victims in Illinois to recreate his scheme. An Illinois consumer checking his credit report also discovered a fraudulent car loan and alerted authorities. The Cortland, Illinois, Police Department and DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott investigated and apprehended Morrow as he attempted to flee Illinois.

Morrow was charged with identity theft by DeKalb County prosecutors and is currently being held at the DeKalb County Jail, pending extradition to Missouri.