2 Miami cops arrested on ID theft, tax-refund charges

Bazile Malinsky, Vital Frederick charged in FBI probe

MIAMI – Two Miami police officers were arrested Thursday on identity theft and tax-refund fraud charges.

Bazile Malinsky, 27, and Vital Frederick, 26, were previously relieved of duty.

VIDEO: Miami police officers arrested

The Miami Herald reports Malinsky and Frederick were charged as part of a FBI investigation into a sports-gambling ring operating out of a barber shop in Liberty City. They and a corrections officer were charged with access device fraud/aggravated identity fraud.

The pair "are accused of stealing people's identities from Miami police databases, "including drivers' license records, and using the information to file fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service, according to authorities," the newspaper reported.

Last month, Harold James, who was also linked to the investigation, pleaded guilty to extortion charges. Court documents allege James "protected and facilitated purported illegal activity, that is, the cashing of fraudulent checks, in exchange for the receipt of a cash payment."

The Miami police chief has had little to say about the investigation.

Florida is considered among the identity theft capitals of the nation.