Canyon County Resident Pleads Guilty to Check Forgery Scheme

BOISE – Elena C. Lupuleasa, 33, of Nampa, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Lupuleasa pleaded guilty pursuant to a written plea agreement filed with the Court.

According to the plea agreement, from April 2016 through November 2016, Lupuleasa devised and executed a scheme to defraud banks.  The scheme involved obtaining stolen checks, driver’s licenses, and other personal information from residents in Boise and Nampa.  Lupuleasa would then forge a check of one victim and make it payable to another theft victim.  Lupuleasa would then impersonate the payee and attempt to cash the check at a bank by presenting the stolen driver’s license or other form of identification of the payee.

Sentencing for Lupuleasa is set for February 6, 2019, before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.

Bank fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 5 years.

Aggravated identity theft is punishable by a mandatory sentence of two years to run consecutive to any other term of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of one year.

This case was investigated by the Nampa Police Department, Boise Police Department, and Ada County Sheriff’s Office.

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