Two Sentenced in Fresno-Area Identity Theft Ring Involving over 250 victims and $1.2 million in Attempted Fraud

FRESNO, Calif. — Two Fresno residents, Daniel Miranda, 26, and Roberto Martinez Jr., 34, were sentenced today for conspiring to commit mail fraud, bank fraud, and wire fraud, and for aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Miranda was sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii to seven years and 10 months in prison, and Martinez was sentenced to three years in prison.

According to court documents, from about June 2012 to January 2014, Miranda and Martinez, along with co-conspirators Lilliana Gonzales and Viririana Hernandez, obtained personal information from victims through various methods. Without the victims’ permission, they opened credit card accounts in the victims’ names or added themselves as “authorized users” of the victims’ existing accounts. The conspirators then used the accounts to buy goods and services at locations throughout the Fresno area, as well as in Modesto and in Riverside County.

In total, the four conspirators misused the personal information of approximately 250 victims and attempted fraudulent credit card charges of over $1.2 million.

San Francisco Division Inspector in Charge Rafael Nunez of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service stated “we are working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partners in law enforcement to arrest and prosecute those responsible for complex Identity Fraud Schemes and to protect postal customer’s mail and personal information from theft.”

This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Michael G. Tierney is prosecuting the case.

Hernandez previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy and aggravated ID theft, and was sentenced to four and a half years in prison on November 2, 2015. Gonzales previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy and aggravated ID theft, and is scheduled to be sentenced on January 11, 2016. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine on the conspiracy charge, and an additional two years for aggravated identity theft. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.