Deputies have arrested 19 people in seven different cases this year where suspects allegedly stole others’ identities in order to get a job.
In the latest case, a woman reported she was denied food stamps because earned wages were reported to the state, but she didn’t earn them.
During the investigation, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says six different people were using the woman’s ID at six different places of employment.
http://liarcatchers.com/identity_theft_investigation.html
Detectives served search warrants to Chompies in Tempe, Zipps Bar and Grill in Tempe, Bradford Allen in Tempe and Best Western in Guadalupe.
In these types of ID theft cases, Arpaio says innocent families are often denied money for food.
38-year-old Eva Maria Lucio-Diaz, 38-year-old Martha Patricia Gonzalez-Florez, 41-year-old Letecia Diaz-Jimeniz and 38-year-old Alicia Surrano-Frias were arrested and face charges of Aggravated Identity Theft and Forgery.
Deputies say they are all in the US illegally.
They’re still investigating the last two suspects in the case.
“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. “The majority of the 19 arrested were in the US illegally.”
