Brooklyn man faces ID theft charges

A Brooklyn man is facing identity theft charges after he was found in possession of 20 driver's licenses from three different states, and nearly 300 Social Security numbers, police said.

Suffolk County police said Emmanuel Egbunike, 43, faces five counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and second-degree unlawful possession of personal identification information.

Egbunike, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip yesterday, and Judge Paul Hensley set his bond at $360,000 bond, or $180,000 cash bail, prosecutors said. He was represented by Legal Aid.

The case was investigated by detectives from the police department's Identity Theft Unit.

Police in the Town of Mamaroneck in Westchester County initially arrested Egbunike, of 8 Monument Walk, on suspicion of grand larceny. Detectives obtained a search warrant for Egbunike's car, from which they recovered 10 New Jersey driver's licenses, nine Maryland driver's licenses and one license from Connecticut -- with Egbunike's photo on each, police said.

Mamaroneck police also allegedly recovered names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers for 289 people.

It was not immediately clear what prompted the initial arrest.