Nampa Woman Sentenced to 39 Months for Identity Theft Scheme

BOISE – Elena Lupuleasa, 34, of Nampa, Idaho, was sentenced today to 39 months in prison by Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Judge Lodge also ordered Lupuleasa to pay restitution in an amount to be determined at a later date and imposed three years of supervised release following her release from prison.

On November 9, 2018, Lupuleasa pleaded guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.  According to court records, from April through November of 2016, Lupuleasa devised and executed a scheme to defraud banks using checks, driver’s licenses, and other personal information stolen from Boise and Nampa residents.  Lupuleasa then forged a stolen check of one victim and made it payable to another victim.  Lupuleasa would then impersonate the payee and cash the check at a local bank by presenting the payee’s stolen driver’s license or other form of identification.

The case was investigated by the Nampa Police Department, the Boise Police Department the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

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