California Residents Plead Guilty to Obtaining Cell Phones Through Identity Theft

BOISE – California residents Jeromy Reeves, 27, Karina Flores, 22, Brittany Terry, 20, and Joseph Jancu, 21, pleaded guilty this week to their roles in a fraud scheme to obtain iPhones through identity theft, Acting United States Attorney Rafael Gonzalez announced. They were indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise in September 2016.

According to plea agreements, Reeves organized the group in California and used Flores’ and Terry’s photographs to make fake California driver’s licenses that contained the identifying information of other persons. Once the group arrived in the Boise area, Reeves directed Flores and Terry to use the fake driver’s licenses to open up cellular services contracts in the names of the unsuspecting victims and to obtain iPhones. Flores and Terry intentionally misrepresented themselves as the victims to obtain the iPhones, with the costs then billed to the victims. Their plan was to take the iPhones back to California where they would be re-sold. In total, the group obtained 32 iPhones and other devices before being caught by the Boise Police Department.

According to Jancu’s plea agreement, he knew of the scheme and drove his co-conspirators from store to store where they executed the scheme.

Terry and Jancu are set to be sentenced on June 14, 2017, before Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge. Reeves and Flores are set to be sentenced on June 15, 2017, also before Judge Lodge.

The case was investigated by the Boise Police Department.