Weld (County, CO) cracks down on 1,300 ID theft cases
Suspects may have received $2.6 million in federal tax refunds.
Chris Casey and Mike Peters
November 14, 2008
http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/2 ... ribune.com

The arrests for ID theft or criminal impersonation are expected to snare hundreds of suspects. Authorities said two years worth of federally approved tax refunds from suspects’ jobs — they work in agriculture, corporations and small businesses across northern Colorado — could total $2.7 million.

The sweep follows the Aug. 13 arrest of Servando Trejo, who was linked to a Texas man who told local authorities that someone working in northern Colorado had been using his Social Security number.

Trejo, a native of Mexico, told a Weld County Sheriff’s Office detective that he bought the ID in Texas after he crossed the border in 1995. He used the ID to get jobs, obtain loans, get a Colorado driver’s license and pay taxes, which in recent years he filed through Amalia’s Translation and Tax Services, 1501 9th St. in Greeley.

Weld sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday launched what they’re calling “Operation Number Games.â€