Bond set at $200K for woman charged with identity theft, financial crimes

Baker is accused of targeting 33 people she met through a staffing agency from 2016 through February 2019. | Adobe Stock Photo

A Glendale Heights woman is accused of stealing the identities of more than two dozen people to open bank accounts in order to finance vacations and school tuition for her children among other personal expenses.

Destiney Baker, 33, is charged with 52 counts of aggravated identity theft, 12 counts of identity theft, 11 counts of continuing financial crimes enterprise, 12 counts of financial institution fraud, three counts of financial exploitation of the elderly and one count of theft, according to the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.

Destiney Baker

Baker was arrested Thursday after she appeared at the DuPage County Courthouse for an unrelated case, the state’s attorney’s office said.

From 2016 through February 2019, Baker, a certified nursing assistant, allegedly stole banking information from people she met through a staffing agency and used the material to open new accounts, prosecutors said.

She allegedly stole tens of thousands of dollars from a total of 33 people which she used for airlines tickets to Hawaii for herself and three children, tuition for her children at St. Matthew Parish Church, veterinary services for her dog, dental work for a relative and to pay off credit accounts, prosecutors said.

Judge George Bakalis set her bond at $200,000 and left in place a motion that requires Baker to prove any funds used to post bond were not illegally obtained, the state’s attorney’s office said.

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