DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

CA: Former Military Reservist, Relative Plead to Identity Theft Scam Exceeding $215,000

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Dissent

Two men, including a former military reservist who stole the identities of fellow soldiers while stationed overseas, pleaded no contest today for their involvement in an identity theft scam totaling more than $215,000 in losses, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Deputy District Attorney Warren Kato of the High Tech Crime Division said former U.S. Army Reservist Gustavo Cervantes (dob 5/6/90) and his cousin, Rigoberto Cortez (dob 11/4/84), both of Pomona, each pleaded to seven counts of identity theft and one count of grand theft.

The defendants admitted a white-collar crime enhancement for a financial loss exceeding $100,000.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Horwitz immediately sentenced Cervantes to three years, eight months in state prison. Cortez received a seven-year prison term. The men were charged in case BA425457.

The defendants were ordered to jointly pay $179,815.45 in restitution. Cortez also must pay additional restitution of $37,658.18.

During a 10-month period, starting in January 2013, Cervantes stole the personal identifying information of seven fellow soldiers while he was stationed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the prosecutor said.

Cervantes provided those identities to Cortez who, from his Pomona home, established lines of credit and credit card accounts using the identities of the victims, the prosecutor added. Altogether, 10 financial institutions lost about $217,000.

The case was jointly investigated by the U.S. Army, FBI and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Southern California High Tech Task Force.

SOURCE: Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office

Related posts:

  • Operation Phish Phry reels in 100 in U.S. and Egypt
  • Nine Defendants Plead Guilty in $20 Million Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Ring
  • IRS’s Top Ten Identity Theft Prosecutions
Category: Government SectorID TheftInsiderU.S.

Post navigation

← Credit union notifying customers after drive with personal info lost
MO: Kansas man pleads guilty to using skimmer to steal credit card numbers at Missouri Taco Bell →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
  • Texas Centers for Infectious Disease Associates Notifies Individuals of Data Breach in 2024
  • Battlefords Union Hospitals notifies patients of employee snooping in their records
  • Alert: Scattered Spider has added North American airline and transportation organizations to their target list
  • Northern Light Health patients affected by security incident at Compumedics; 10 healthcare entities affected
  • Privacy commissioner reviewing reported Ontario Health atHome data breach
  • CMS warns Medicare providers of fraud scheme
  • Ex-student charged with wave of cyber attacks on Sydney uni
  • Detaining Hackers Before the Crime? Tamil Nadu’s Supreme Court Approves Preventive Custody for Cyber Offenders
  • Potential Cyberattack Scrambles Columbia University Computer Systems

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
  • Germany Wants Apple, Google to Remove DeepSeek From Their App Stores
  • Supreme Court upholds Texas law requiring age verification on porn sites
  • Justices nix Medicaid ‘right’ to choose doctor, defunding Planned Parenthood in South Carolina
  • European Commission publishes its plan to enable more effective law enforcement access to data
  • Sacred Secrets: The Biblical Case for Privacy and Data Protection
  • Microsoft’s Departing Privacy Chief Calls for Regulator Outreach

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.