Police arrest illegal immigrant w/stolen identification

July 7, 2009

Staff Reports,
A man who has been working in Greeley for at least the last two years has been arrested for identity theft after police learned of the real identity to the Social Security number he'd been using.

Greeley police arrested Valentine Beltran, 23, last week on suspicion of identity theft and criminal impersonation, both felonies.

Police learned of the theft when the victim, a 23-year-old from Denver, reported that he'd been informed by the Internal Revenue Service that he failed to claim his wages earned from the Swift & Co. beef plant in 2004, 2005 and 2006. That was prior to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in December 2006. Current owners, JBS, took over the company in 2007.

Denver police initially investigated, learning that Tafoya's Social Security number was being used at three locations, one of which was the victim's current employment.

He is being held in Weld County Jail in lieu of paying $10,000 bail. He is expected to be formally charged on Monday.

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