Victims of identity theft should know they are not alone. AP reports that California billionaire Donald Bren has had $1.4 million in tax refunds stolen by an identity thief.
Bren, who is listed as the 45th wealthiest person in the world by Forbes magazine, was targeted by an as yet unknown man who created bank accounts in his name. Federal authorities claim that the unknown thief used one of the accounts to deposit Bren's refund check from the IRS and then transferred the money out of the account.
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While authorities are still investigating the case, the money has been credited to the account. It is not yet clear if the bank itself or the bank's insurance company will be providing the $1.4 million in missing funds.
Bren's wealth is largely tied to real estate interests in Southern California, through the Irvine Co., a private real estate company of which he is the chairman. The company maintains an investment portfolio of more than 85 million square feet of property.
Bren himself has a reported net worth of $12 billion.
