Man accused of taking Army IDs to appear in court

Published 9:26 am Monday, December 16, 2013

MINNEAPOLIS — An Iraq War veteran accused of stealing the identification information of hundreds of members of his former Army unit is scheduled to appear in court for a detention hearing.

Twenty-five-year-old Keith Michael Novak is charged with fraud for allegedly stealing the names, Social Security numbers and birthdates of military members. An affidavit alleges he planned to use the information to create fake IDs for members of his militia. It says he also wanted money.

He’s been in custody since his Wednesday arrest and can’t be reached for comment. A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday in U.S. District Court.

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Novak served as an active-duty soldier and intelligence analyst with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., from 2009 through 2012. He then joined the Minnesota National Guard.