Eleven accused in various identity-theft scams
Eleven individuals suspected of carrying out various identity-theft scams have been charged with felony’s, reported officials with the District Attorney’s Office yesterday.
The men and women involved in the case, most of whom are Russian and Armenian nationals, are being charged with conspiracy, grand theft, forgery and identity theft, prosecutors reported.
If they are found guilty of their charges, they could receive six to 35 years to serve in jail.
They entered not guilty pleas in the San Diego Superior Court.
Prosecutors argued that a couple of the defendants are living in the U.S. on work visas. Since they were taken into custody, federal officials have put immigration holds on them.
A couple of the other defendants compose a group of individuals that helped to bring Russian citizens to the United States, assisted them in getting hired as pedicab drivers and used them to create bank accounts and get money based on fraudulent tax returns.
Members of the group also created and used fake credit cards in order to purchase designer bags that they sold on the internet afterwards, prosecutors informed.
