Men arrested in identity bust at FLL plead guilty

Godfrey Teekah Jr., 28, Phillip Collins, 29, arrested while trying to board flight in 2013

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Two men accused of possessing personal information to file fraudulent tax returns pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday.

Godfrey Teekah Jr., 28, and Phillip Collins, 29, both of Miami Gardens, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices and one count of aggravated identity theft.

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The suspects were arrested in February 2013 while they were trying to board a flight at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

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According to court documents, Teekah had more than $4,000 in cash on him and nine debit cards embossed with other people's names. Authorities said Teekah also had two computers in his possession that contained personal identification information, IRS employer identification numbers and IRS website access logs.

Authorities said Collins was also in possession of one debit card in someone else's name.

Documents said Collins' computer contained temporary Internet files for "get my prepaid card," "irs.gov" and "gfx-prepaid-cards."

According to authorities, Collins and Teekah possessed personal information belonging to more than 300 people.

They are scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 9

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About the Author:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.