A Sinking Feeling

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Milwaukee attorney Michael M. Berzowski doesn’t own a yacht. So news that he had taken out a $391,000 loan on a 48-foot Sea Ray vessel came as a bit of a shock.

“I’m not much of a sailor,” said Berzowski, who does own a 14-foot speed boat.
Berzowski, a partner at Weiss Berzowski Brady LLP and a former Major General in the Army Reserve, was a victim of identity theft.

Two Michigan men were recently charged with allegedly stealing Berzowski’s personal checking account information, tax return information and Social Security number to obtain a bank loan for a $549,000 yacht.

Why the accused targeted him and how they tapped into his financial records is a mystery, since he had never heard of the two men until the FBI called him a couple of weeks ago.

Berzowski, who ironically practices business, tax, corporate and employment law, said the first call he received was from JP Morgan asking if he had written a check for $54,000.

After checking with firm accountants, he found out that the money had come from his personal account.

“It was not my signature, but it was my name on the check,” said Berzowski, who has not had any money stolen during the ordeal.

But he says the resolution to this point has been mixed. While Berzowski says the system succeeded in catching the offenders, it has done little to address the anxiety of who else might have his personal information at their fingertips.

Even more ironic, is that one of Berzowski’s colleagues at the firm hosted a podcast on workplace identity theft last year.

“People ask me what I could have done differently and I my answer is nothing,” said Berzowski. “I guess I’m just a lucky guy.”