One of two San Bernardino women who police say tried to go on a spending spree with stolen identities was captured Thursday, April 4, when she returned to a Riverside County car dealership to complete a purchase.
Monique Desiree Martinez, 27, of San Bernardino, was arrested by San Bernardino police. Norra Bannatt Mokhtar, 31, of San Bernardino, remained at large Thursday. They are suspected of stealing hundreds of people’s identities. Martinez is accused of using those IDs to buy expensive vehicles.
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The shopping started on Feb. 8 at a Riverside County Mercedes dealership, Sgt. Travis Walker said.
Martinez, accompanied by Mokhtar, financed a $40,000 Mercedes Benz with a stolen identity. They also opened lines of credit at numerous local businesses, according to the sergeant.
Their spree appeared to have ended when police arrested Martinez at a San Bernardino dealership trying to buy a $20,000 motorcycle with a stolen identity, Walker said. Witnesses reported that Mokhtar was with her, but she was not arrested.
But Martinez posted bail, and a week later on Feb. 19, she bought a $39,000 pickup truck at a dealership in Fontana with a stolen identity, according to Walker.
On Thursday, an employee of the undisclosed Riverside County dealership told police that he recognized Martinez from the photo distributed to the media when Martinez entered the business Wednesday, Walker said. When Martinez returned Thursday to complete the purchase, police were waiting for her.
“This one’s a little different than usual identity theft (cases),” Walker said, saying the suspects are more brazen than most. “We arrest (Martinez) on Friday, and the following Friday she’s back out trying to buy a new car.”
Police caught Mokhtar in the stolen Mercedes Benz on March 12 and arrested her, according to Walker. She posted bail a short time later.
Police served a search warrant on the women’s residences and found “evidence of identity theft, tax fraud, methamphetamine and equipment used to make fraudulent credit cards,” according to a San Bernardino Police Department news release.
Anybody with information on this case is asked to call Sgt. Walker at 909-384-5642 or Detective Emon at 909-384-5644.
