Press Release
FOUR CHARGED IN CREDIT CARD AND IDENTITY THEFT RING
July 3, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Henry Gutierrez, Postal Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, William T. Sims, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, and Rolando Bolanos, Chief, Hialeah Police Department, announced the July 2, 2007 unsealing of an Indictment, and the arrest of four (4) defendants in connection with their involvement in a credit card fraud and identity theft scheme. Defendants Geovani Barrios-Delgado, Elizabeth C. Barrios, Marilyn Mendoza and Julio Gonzalez were arrested and made their initial appearances in federal court in Miami, Florida on July 2, 2007.
The Indictment charges Geovani Barrios-Delgado, Elizabeth C. Barrios, Marilyn Mendoza and Julio Gonzalez (and others) with conspiracy to commit credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. It also charges defendants Geovani Barrios-Delgado and Elizabeth C. Barrios with three (3) counts of credit card fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(2); three (3) counts of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A; and one (1) count of attempted credit card fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(b)(1). Defendant Marilyn Mendoza was also charged with one (1) count of credit card fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(2); and one (1) count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A. Defendant Julio Gonzalez was also charged with one (1) count of attempted credit card fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(b)(1).
If convicted, defendants Geovani Barrios-Delgado and Elizabeth C. Barrios face up to five (5) years' imprisonment for the conspiracy charge and up to forty (40) years' imprisonment for the credit card fraud and attempted credit card fraud charges. They also face a mandatory two-year sentence for each of the aggravated identity theft charges, which term would run consecutively to any term of imprisonment for the conspiracy and credit card fraud charges.
If convicted, defendant Marilyn Mendoza faces up to five (5) years' imprisonment for the conspiracy charge and up to ten (10) years' imprisonment for the credit card fraud and attempted credit card fraud charges. She also faces a mandatory two-year sentence for the aggravated identity theft charge, which would run consecutively to any term of imprisonment for the conspiracy and credit card fraud charges.
If convicted defendant Julio Gonzalez faces up to five (5) years' imprisonment for the conspiracy charge and up to ten (10) years' imprisonment for the attempted credit card fraud charge.
As alleged in the indictment, defendants Geovani Barrios-Delgado and Elizabeth C. Barrios would fraudulently obtain credit reports of hundreds of individuals, without the knowledge or consent of these individuals. They would then sell the fraudulently obtained credit reports, which contained, among other things, the victim's name, social security number, and listing of the victim's open lines of credit, to co-conspirators. The co-conspirators would fraudulently assume the identity of the credit card account holders, contact the credit card account holder's credit card company, and cause a replacement credit card to be sent to an address which one of the co-conspirators designated, without the credit card account holder's knowledge or consent. The co-conspirators would also fraudulently add names as authorized users to existing credit accounts and cause cards to be issued in the name of the fraudulently added individuals.
Defendant Marilyn Mendoza, and other co-conspirators, using different credit accounts, made purchases and obtained cash advances at various locations in the South Florida area. The ring was responsible for in excess of $400,000 worth of fraudulent purchases and cash advances.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service and the Hialeah Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bertha R. Mitrani.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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