Man claims he’s a ‘criminal genius’

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – An accused criminal seemed to have a total disregard for the seriousness of his alleged crimes and claimed he was “a criminal genius,” police and prosecutors say.

On Wednesday, the DA’s Office filed new charges against 36-year-old Gregory Louis Fappiano. He has been in jail since July 3.

Police say their investigation into Fappiano started when an officer noticed him driving too fast on SE 82^nd near SE Foster Road. When Fappiano was pulled over, he claimed his name was “Yakub Shaik,” according to court documents. Fappiano handed the officer a credit card with the name “Yakub Shaik,” but the officer was suspicious and ran the name.

The officer asked Fappiano if he had any paperwork for the vehicle he was driving. Fappiano gave the officer a yellow sheet of paper that had been signed by “Yakub Shaik,” court documents state.

Portland Police Detective Jason Harris was assigned to follow up on the investigation and figured out the vehicle Fappiano was driving had been sold on May 21, 2015. Harris obtained surveillance video from the Fred Meyer store in the 5200 block of SE 82^nd Avenue. The video shows Fappiano in the store and making purchases using a credit card belonging to “Yakub Shaik,” court documents state.

Harris went to the Multnomah County Inverness Jail and interviewed Fappiano who said he found personal information that included tax returns, computer disks and social security information belonging to Shaik.

According to investigators, Fappiano “stole (Shaik’s) identity with the sole purpose of gathering credit cards and going on a shopping spree.” Fappiano admitted he bought the vehicle using a credit card belonging to Shaik, court documents state.

Harris showed Fappiano still images of the Fred Meyer surveillance video and Fappiano’s reply was “G-man, that’s me” and continued to laugh, court documents state. The detective asked Fappiano if he wanted to write an apology note to the victim and Fappiano said he would write “thanks for all the cool s—!”

Fappiano appeared in court on Wednesday afternoon. He is charged with 4 counts of ID theft and 1 count of giving false information to a police officer. He is scheduled to be back in court on July 23.