SACRAMENTO, CA—Michael Garcia, 39, of Stockton, was sentenced on May 31, 2012 by United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to 57 months in prison for fraud in connection with computers and in connection with an access device, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, Garcia was employed as a technician by a Modesto, California contractor that provided IT services to third parties. While employed there, Garcia accessed the computer servers of a law firm in Stockton and an accountant (CPA) firm without their knowledge or authorization and downloaded the personal information of more than 1,450 clients and employees. Garcia maintained this information on his computer and elsewhere.
According to court documents, Garcia and others used this personal and financial information to make counterfeited identification documents including driver’s licenses and military identification. They used the information to open bank accounts, draft bank checks, make cash withdrawals, obtain loans and lines of credit, and make unauthorized purchases. Additionally, Garcia accompanied others who wore stolen U.S. Customs and Border Protection uniforms to carry out certain fraudulent transactions, such as cashing checks, in the belief that the uniforms gave them more credibility. When arrested, Garcia possessed counterfeit California driver’s licenses, one of which bore his photo but with the name of a victim. The loss is more than $136,000.
In court, an employee of the accounting firm where Garcia unlawfully accessed the personal financial information told of the severe hardship suffered by the firm because of Garcia’s actions, as well as the personal toll she experienced because of Garcia’s breach of trust. Judge England commented that identity theft cases, particularly those where there has been an abuse of trust, negatively affect many lives.
This case was the product of an extensive investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Todd Pickles and Robin Taylor prosecuted the case.
[Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California, FBI]
None of the firms involved – the contractor, the law firm, or the CPA firm – were named in any of the available documents. The complaint provides some of the original allegations as to the nature of the crime.
And if Judge England (correctly) recognized that ID theft cases, particularly those where there has been an abuse of trust, negatively affect many lives, then why is it so hard for the ultimate victims – those whose identity info has been stolen and misused – to get any compensation other than for unreimbursed financial costs?