Five individuals in two separate cases of identity theft have been arrested by Maricopa County sheriff’s deputies. The investigations began after citizens called the Sheriff’s Office saying they feared their identities had been stolen by unknown persons.
In the first case, detectives from the Sheriff’s Office conducted an investigation that culminated in the arrests of four suspects, all of whom were using the same name and ID of one man at their places of employment including the Cheesecake Factory, Mesa Country Club, Arizona Tree Work Elite Landscaping, Consolidated Personnel, and Old Chicago.
Those arrested in his case were Jose Rodriguez-Zuniga (DOB 10/26/84), Mario Martinez Hernandez (DOB7/23/78), Carlos Fernando Perez-Perez (DOB 12/1/95), and Rosendo Milan-Zapata (DOB 10/27/53).
In the second case, detectives arrested one suspect employed at Leach Painting on charges of ID theft. There was a second possible suspect using that same name and Social Security number in this investigation but she was not apprehended. Detectives suspect the second suspect abruptly quit her job after having been alerted to the investigation by her employer.
The name of the female arrested in the second case was Maria Del Rosarioa Alecio (DOB 1/1/69).
Arpaio points out that the victims in these cases were both denied food stamps by the Arizona Department of Economic Security because the agency believed each victim was actually employed and earning too much money to qualify.
“These investigations clearly demonstrate how serious ID theft crimes can be for the victims, impacting their lives in the most basic of ways,” Arpaio says.
“Not being able to get food for yourself or your family because someone has stolen your ID is a serious problem.”
Furthermore, one suspect, Arpaio says, was very experienced in identity theft having been previously arrested on three counts of Aggravated Identity Theft (a Class 3 Felony) and 19 counts of Forgery (a Class 4 Felony).
Four of the suspects were held by Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE), while the ICE disposition of the fifth suspect is unknown. ICE holds are employed when a suspect in a crime has been identified as an illegal immigrant.
As reported today by cnsnews.com, the Office of the Inspector General of Social Security published an analysis in August of last year on the misuse of Social Security Numbers, attesting that ID theft involving Social Security numbers is a problem on a national scale.
According to the report, in 2010, employers filed 7.3 million W-2 forms on which the name and the Social Security Number did not match.
This is the 81st criminal employment operation conducted by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.