Thread: 'Total Identity Theft' Scheme Linked to Illegal Aliens

'Total Identity Theft' Scheme Linked to Undocumented Immigrants

Published October 23, 2012
Fox News Latino

• 
  Houston schoolteacher Candida Gutierrez, whose identity was stolen several years ago. (AP2012)

WICHITA, Kansas – When Candida L. Gutierrez's identity was stolen, the thief didn't limit herself to opening fraudulent credit and bank accounts. She assumed Gutierrez's persona completely, using it to get a job, a driver's license, a mortgage and even medical care for the birth of two children.

All the while, the crook claimed the real Gutierrez was the one who had stolen her identity. The women's unusual tug-of-war puts a face on "total identity theft," a brazen form of the crime in which con artists go beyond financial fraud to assume many other aspects of another person's life.

The scheme has been linked to undocumented immigrants who use stolen Social Security numbers to get paid at their jobs, and authorities fear the problem could soon grow to ensnare more unsuspecting Americans.

"When she claimed my identity and I claimed it back, she was informed that I was claiming it too," said Gutierrez, a 31-year-old elementary schoolteacher. "She knew I was aware and that I was trying to fight, and yet she would keep fighting. It is not like she realized and she stopped. No, she kept going, and she kept going harder."

A 32-year-old undocumented immigrant named Benita Cardona-Gonzalez is accused of using Gutierrez's identity during a 10-year period when she worked at a Topeka company that packages refrigerated foods.

For years, large numbers of undocumented immigrants have filled out payroll forms using their real names but stolen Social Security numbers. However, as electronic employment verification systems such as E-Verify become more common, the use of fake numbers is increasingly difficult. Now prosecutors worry that more people will try to fool the systems by assuming full identities rather than stealing the numbers alone.

THREE D's TO PROTECT YOURSELF

DETER identity thieves by safeguarding your information:

• Shred financial documents.
• Be careful with your Social Security number.
• Don't share personal data over the phone or the Internet unless you know who you are dealing with.
• Never click on links sent in unsolicited emails.
• Don't use an obvious password to important websites.

DETECT suspicious activity by routinely monitoring accounts and billing statements:

• Be alert for mail that does not arrive as expected, calls about purchases you did not make or denials of credit for no apparent reason.
• Inspect your credit report regularly. To get a free copy of your credit report from the major credit reporting companies visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com or call 1-877-322-8228.

DEFEND against identity theft as soon as you suspect a problem:
Place a fraud alert on your credit reports.

• Close accounts that may have been compromised.
• File a police report and report your complaint to the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/idtheft or by phone at 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-433.

For victims, total identity theft can also have serious health consequences if electronic medical records linked to Social Security numbers get mixed up, putting at risk the accuracy of important patient information such as blood types or life-threatening allergies.

Federal Trade Commission statistics show that Americans reported more than 279,000 instances of identity theft in 2011, up from 251,100 a year earlier. While it is unclear how many of those cases involve total identity theft, one possible indicator is the number of identity theft complaints that involve more than one type of identity theft — 13 percent last year, compared with 12 percent a year earlier.

Nationwide, employment-related fraud accounted for 8 percent of identity theft complaints last year. But in states with large immigrant populations, employment-related identity fraud was much higher: 25 percent in Arizona, 15 percent in Texas, 16 percent in New Mexico, 12 percent in California.

Prosecutors say that the longer a person uses someone else's identity, the more confident the thief becomes using that identity for purposes other than just working.

Once they have become established in a community, identity thieves don't want to live in the shadows and seek a normal life like everybody else. That's when they take the next step and get a driver's license, a home loan and health insurance.

"And so that is a natural progression, and that is what we are seeing," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson, who is prosecuting the case against Gutierrez's imposter.

Gutierrez first learned her identity had been hijacked when she was turned down for a mortgage more than a decade ago. Now each year she trudges to the Social Security Administration with her birth certificate, driver's license, passport and even school yearbooks to prove her identity and clear her employment record.

She spends hours on the phone with creditors and credit bureaus, fills out affidavits and has yet to clean up her credit history. Her tax records are a mess. She even once phoned the imposter's Kansas employer in a futile effort to find some relief.

Both women claimed they were identity theft victims and sought to get new Social Security numbers. The Social Security Administration turned down the request from Gutierrez, instead issuing a new number to the woman impersonating her. And in another ironic twist, Gutierrez was forced to file her federal income tax forms using a special identification number usually reserved for undocumented immigrants.

"It is such a horrible nightmare," Gutierrez said. "You get really angry, and then you start realizing anger is not going to help. ... But when you have so much on your plate and you keep such a busy life, it is really such a super big inconvenience. You have to find the time for someone who is abusing you."

When Gutierrez recently got married, her husband began researching identity theft on the Internet and stumbled across identity theft cases filed against other undocumented immigrants working at Reser's Fine Foods, the same manufacturer where Cardona-Gonzalez worked. He contacted federal authorities in Kansas and asked them to investigate the employee working there who had stolen his wife's identity.

The alleged imposter was arrested in August, and her fingerprints confirmed that immigration agents had encountered Cardona-Gonzalez in 1996 in Harlingen, Texas, and sent her back to México.

Cardona-Gonzalez did not respond to a letter sent to her at the Butler County jail, where she is awaiting trial on charges of aggravated identity theft, misuse of a Social Security number and production of a false document.

Her attorney, Matthew Works, did not respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment. Court filings indicate the two sides are negotiating a plea agreement.

Citing privacy issues, the Social Security Administration declined to discuss the Gutierrez case. Reser's Fine Foods did not return a message left at its Topeka plant.

Anderson expects more cases of total identity theft "because we all know what is going on out there — which is thousands and thousands of people who are working illegally in the United States under false identities, mostly of U.S. citizens, and very little is being done about it. But we are doing something about it, one case at a time."

'Total Identity Theft' Scheme Linked to Undocumented Immigrants | Fox News Latino

This is an important article and it is surprising to see this kind of honesty in anything out of Fox Latino.

W

More than likely citizens and legal immigrants are educated and can read. Illegals have little education and many can not read-if they do read they have at most an elementary education. It's not the illegals that are reading Fox Latino. Most citizens and legal immigrants are against illegal immigration! Our press needs to wake up to that fact and quit pushing propaganda.

Added to Homepage with slightly amended title:
http://www.alipac.us/content/total-i...l-aliens-1062/

Americans of Hispanic decent are the biggest targets of identity theft by Hispanic illegal aliens. It has been so bad for the citizens of Puerto Rico, that Puerto Rico had to void and reissue birth certificates. Not all Americans of Hispanic decent are in the bag for the illegals, many have been their victims

Can someone find us a good link to the story about illegal aliens taking over people's empty homes in Colorado? We should link these two stories together for dispersal.

W

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

Can someone find us a good link to the story about illegal aliens taking over people's empty homes in Colorado? We should link these two stories together for dispersal.

W

http://www.alipac.us/f9/co-scammers-...harges-261869/

Scammers sold homes they didn't own, Denver Grand Jury charges - The Denver Post

Family Finally Back Home After Strangers Leave Their House

A family is finally back in their home in Littleton after strangers who had been living there finally moved out.
2012/08/22


Man Accused Of Stealing Homes Will Face A Judge

A man accused of stealing homes for profit will face a judge. Alfonso Carrillo is in police custody.
2012/08/11




Man Accused Of Selling Homes Owned By Others Indicted

A man accused of repeatedly taking over homes he doesn’t own, then selling or renting them to others, has been indicted by a grand jury.
2012/08/03




Squatters Remain In Littleton Home Despite Judge’s Ruling

Two weeks ago a judge ruled in favor of the Donovan family, giving squatters just two days to leave their home. Since then, the squatters have filed a flurry of legal paperwork and have managed to stave off an eviction slated for this week.
2012/07/28





Arraignment Date Set For Man Accused Of Selling Foreclosed Homes

An arraignment date has been set for a second person charged in an alleged scheme to occupy homes under foreclosure in Colorado. The homes remain occupied or are sometimes sold or rented.
2012/03/06




Grand Jury Assigned To Stolen Homes Case

A grand jury in Denver has been assigned a case about stolen houses- homes that are under foreclosure and are occupied by people who are laying claim to the properties.
2012/02/09




Scheme To Steal Homes Far Reaching Across Colorado Communities

An ongoing 4 On Your Side Investigation uncovers more homes, some worth more than a million dollars, that have been stolen and then sold or rented using phony deeds and leases.
2012/02/07




Man Accused Of Stealing Homes Sent Back To Jail

A man charged with stealing homes has been sent back to jail. A judge revoked Alfonso Carrillo’s bond when he went to court on charges of theft and filing phony deeds.
2012/01/07




More Charges Filed Against Man Accused Of Stealing Homes

More charges are being filed against a man accused of stealing homes, then selling or renting them using phony deeds and leases.
2011/12/29





Victim Of House Theft To Get His Home Back

While Larry Asbery was in the hospital fighting a potentially deadly disease another family moved in to his home. He finally got help from a judge on Wednesday.
2011/12/21

Kansas case puts face on 'total identity theft'

By Roxana Hegeman October 23, 2012 12:11 pm

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - When Candida L. Gutierrez's identity was stolen, the thief didn't limit herself to opening fraudulent credit and bank accounts. She assumed Gutierrez's persona completely, using it to get a job, a driver's license, a mortgage and even medical care for the birth of two children.

All the while, the crook claimed the real Gutierrez was the one who had stolen her identity. The women's unusual tug-of-war puts a face on "total identity theft," a brazen form of the crime in which con artists go beyond financial fraud to assume many other aspects of another person's life.

The scheme has been linked to illegal immigrants who use stolen Social Security numbers to get paid at their jobs, and authorities fear the problem could soon grow to ensnare more unsuspecting Americans.

"When she claimed my identity and I claimed it back, she was informed that I was claiming it too," said Gutierrez, a 31-year-old Houston elementary school teacher. "She knew I was aware and that I was trying to fight, and yet she would keep fighting. It is not like she realized and she stopped. No, she kept going, and she kept going harder."

A 32-year-old illegal immigrant named Benita Cardona-Gonzalez is accused of using Gutierrez's identity during a 10-year period when she worked at a Topeka company that packages refrigerated foods.

For years, large numbers of illegal immigrants have filled out payroll forms using their real names but stolen Social Security numbers. However, as electronic employment verification systems such as E-Verify become more common, the use of fake numbers is increasingly difficult. Now prosecutors worry that more people will try to fool the systems by assuming full identities rather than stealing the numbers alone.

For victims, total identity theft can also have serious health consequences if electronic medical records linked to Social Security numbers get mixed up, putting at risk the accuracy of important patient information such as blood types or life-threatening allergies.

Federal Trade Commission statistics show that Americans reported more than 279,000 instances of identity theft in 2011, up from 251,100 a year earlier. While it is unclear how many of those cases involve total identity theft, one possible indicator is the number of identity theft complaints that involve more than one type of identity theft - 13 percent last year, compared with 12 percent a year earlier.

Nationwide, employment-related fraud accounted for 8 percent of identity theft complaints last year. But in states with large immigrant populations, employment-related identity fraud was much higher: 25 percent in Arizona, 15 percent in Texas, 16 percent in New Mexico, 12 percent in California.

Prosecutors say that the longer a person uses someone else's identity, the more confident the thief becomes using that identity for purposes other than just working.

Once they have become established in a community, identity thieves don't want to live in the shadows and they seek a normal life like everybody else. That's when they take the next step and get a driver's license, a home loan and health insurance.

"And so that is a natural progression, and that is what we are seeing," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson, who is prosecuting the case against Gutierrez's alleged impostor.

Gutierrez first learned her identity had been hijacked when she was turned down for a mortgage more than a decade ago. Now each year she trudges to the Social Security Administration with her birth certificate, driver's license, passport and even school yearbooks to prove her identity and clear her employment record.

She spends hours on the phone with creditors and credit bureaus, fills out affidavits and has yet to clean up her credit history. Her tax records are a mess. She even once phoned the impostor's Kansas employer in a futile effort to find some relief.

Both women claimed they were identity theft victims and sought to get new Social Security numbers.

The Social Security Administration turned down the request from Gutierrez, instead issuing a new number to the woman impersonating her. And in another ironic twist, Gutierrez was forced to file her federal income tax forms using a special identification number usually reserved for illegal immigrants.

"It is such a horrible nightmare," Gutierrez said. "You get really angry, and then you start realizing anger is not going to help. ... But when you have so much on your plate and you keep such a busy life, it is really such a super big inconvenience. You have to find the time for someone who is abusing you."

When Gutierrez recently got married, her husband began researching identity theft on the Internet and stumbled across identity theft cases filed against other illegal immigrants working at Reser's Fine Foods, the same manufacturer where Cardona-Gonzalez worked. He contacted federal authorities in Kansas and asked them to investigate the employee working there who had stolen his wife's identity.

The alleged impostor was arrested in August, and her fingerprints confirmed that immigration agents had encountered Cardona-Gonzalez in 1996 in Harlingen, Texas, and sent her back to Mexico.

Cardona-Gonzalez did not respond to a letter sent to her at the Butler County jail, where she is awaiting trial on charges of aggravated identity theft, misuse of a Social Security number and production of a false document.

Her attorney, Matthew Works, did not respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment. Court filings indicate the two sides are negotiating a plea agreement.

Citing privacy issues, the Social Security Administration declined to discuss the Gutierrez case. Reser's Fine Foods did not return a message left at its Topeka plant.

Anderson expects more cases of total identity theft "because we all know what is going on out there - which is thousands and thousands of people who are working illegally in the United States under false identities, mostly of U.S. citizens, and very little is being done about it. But we are doing something about it, one case at a time."

» Kansas case puts face on ‘total identity theft’ » News -- GOPUSA