Sacramento Resident Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Fraud Scheme and Aggravated Identity Theft

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Raleigh Rana Figueras, 36, of Sacramento, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. for his role in a fraud and identity theft scheme, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

On February 9, 2017, Figueras pleaded guilty to bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, possession of stolen U.S. mail, and unlawful possession of five or more identification documents.

On March 16, 2017, Judge England sentenced Figueras’ estranged spouse, Michele Reyes Serrano, 35, also of Sacramento, to five years and 11 months in prison for bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and possession of stolen U.S. mail.

According to court documents, between June 2015 and January 2016, Figueras, Serrano, and others obtained victim identities and financial information from stolen mail and other stolen property. They obtained personal and financial information and used it to pose as the identity theft victims and use their stolen bank accounts, access device numbers, and altered checks to get money, goods and services from banks and merchants. Figueras created counterfeit driver’s licenses on his computer. Surveillance cameras caught the defendants cashing checks or making purchases at Sacramento-area Target and Wal‑Mart stores.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with the assistance of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and the Sacramento County Probation Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Rodriguez and Rosanne L. Rust prosecuted the case.

The Postal Inspection Service conducted these investigations with assistance of its Narcotic and Economic Crimes Investigations Task Force (NECI). NECI is a partnership between local and federal law enforcement to combat theft and unlawful use of the U.S. Mail. The Placer County District Attorney’s Office and Sutter County Sheriff’s Office have each dedicated law enforcement personnel to the task force.