Identity Theft

FBI Arrests Identity Thief For Taking $610,000 From Fountain Valley Bank

In December 2010, a Sunset Beach woman got a terrible surprise when she went to a Huntington Beach branch of U.S. Bank to pay off her mortgage and discovered that three weeks earlier a stranger had emptied her account of more than $610,000.According to court records, an FBI investigation determined ... More >>

Carmella Bing, Buxom Porn Star, Cops to Clinching a Pipe (No, a Meth Pipe, Silly)

Sarah Marie Faas, representing herself in an Orange County courtroom on Jan. 22, pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor possession of a meth pipe, a first-time offense that can be wiped from her record if she meets certain conditions over the next three months.No big whoop, really, until you dis ... More >>

The Creators of 'Identity Thief' Have Misplaced Body Horror

They fear what audiences love about Melissa McCarthy: HER

Carmella Bing, Porn Star, Cited for Drug Paraphernalia Possession in Irvine After Being in Car with Auto and I.D. Theft Suspect

Porn star Carmella Bing, who was born Sarah Marie Fass, was apprehended in an Irvine backyard early Wednesday and cited for drug paraphernalia possession by police following a stolen car she was riding in as part of an identity theft ring investigation.The 31-year-old Los Angeles resident was cited, ... More >>

Angus Brown and Arman Sharopetrosian Ran I.D. Theft Ring from Prison, Get to Stay Longer

Federal Judge David O. Carter had a wild case in his Santa Ana courtroom this week, one involving Armenian Power gang members in prison, African-American gang members on the outside, bank insiders, uh, inside banks and one of the most sophisticated identity theft fraud schemes the veteran jurist has ... More >>

Christopher John Aragon Gets 25 Years for Leading Sophisticated Credit Card Crime Ring

Christopher John Aragon, who pleaded guilty in March to leading a crime ring that stole thousands of personal identities for counterfeit credit cards used to buy high-end goods that were re-sold online, has been sentenced to 25 years in state prison. The Capistrano Beach 52-year-old is the final of ... More >>

Meet Orange County's Accused Identity Theft King: Hyun Su Moon

Either Orange County's Hyun Su Moon suffers severe multiple personality disorders or is a serial crook embarrassing California's Three Strikes laws.Moon apparently can't decide who he wants to be.Is he Korean with a different name, Ji Su Moon?Or is he a Vietnamese, Hoa Vinh Hoang?Moon allegedly used ... More >>

Better Call Glew: The Case of the Wanna-be Conspirator

  Hi Mr. Glew,My friends were planning on running an identity theft scam and at first I was thinking about going along with their plan and I agreed to help but then I got scared and backed out right away. A couple weeks later they went through with the plan and were arrested. Can I be charged ... More >>

Suniti Shah and Supriti Soni Join Mom in Prison After Admitting Roles in $16 mil Scam

Two Newport Beach-area sisters will soon be reunited with their mother--in the state penal system anyway. Suniti Shah, 51, of Newport Coast, and Supriti Soni, 52, of Corona del Mar, pleaded guilty to their roles in a $16 million real estate scam that has already sent their 74-year-old mother, Susham ... More >>

Sushama Devi Lohia and Aida Agusti Castro are Prison Bound for Family Home Loan Scams

It's Pot Day and Hitler's Birthday but definitely not Mother's Day, especially not for moms Sushama Devi Lohia, 74, of Newport Beach and 67-year-old Aida Agusti Castro of Cardiff. Lohia was sentenced today to eight years in prison for conspiring with her two daughters and a son-in-law to commit more ... More >>

Christopher John Aragon Guilty of Leading Crime Ring That Stole I.D.'s, Made Fake Credit Cards and Bought Goods Resold on Web

​Way back in January 2010, then-Weekling Spencer Kornhaber shared a video where a Newport Beach Police detective displayed the machinery hacker Christopher John Aragon used to forge credit cards based on real names and account numbers stolen off the interwebs. Aragon, 51, of Capistrano Beach, ple ... More >>

Irvine Credit Card Swindler Learns Benefit of Aiding U.S. Secret Service

​An Irvine man arrested in 2006 by a federal Orange County Identity Theft Task Force after stealing more than $400,000 in a credit card fraud scheme is being released from custody after he pleaded guilty.Douglas Scott Frey, who was 36 years old at the time of his arrest, committed crimes that trig ... More >>

Hung Van Tieu, 62-Year-Old Costa Mesa Man, Convicted Of Credit Card Fraud, Spent Thousands In Vegas

flickr user photographyyourway​So you've posted bond in the state's pending credit card fraud case against you. What's your next step? Clean up your act? Naw. Steal credit cards and blow cash like crazy in Vegas? That's more like it.Well, a 62-year-old Costa Mesa man did just that. On Thursday, a ... More >>

Dwight Christian Vaccaro, Alleged Credit Card Fraud Ring Leader, Popped After Nekkid Pair in Car Arrested

​You never know where two naked people boozing in a car outside a restaurant at 3 a.m. will lead you.Police discovered such a couple near the White House Restaurant in Laguna Beach on Sept. 19 and were eventually led to a credit card fraud ring involving as many as six people.

[UPDATED with Victims Speak:] Luis Mijangos, Sextortion Hacker, Gets 6 Years

​UPDATE, SEPT. 2, 11:04 A.M.: Two victims of Luis Mijangos hacking into dozens of computers to obtain personal data--and in some cases demanding sexually explicit videos from female victims in exchange for not distributing other images--spoke at the undocumented immigrant's sentencing."During to ... More >>

[UPDATED with New $$$ Details:] Settlement of Anthem Blue Cross Suit Over Web Files on 600,000 Left Unprotected Gets Early OK

​UPDATE, JULY 21, 4:13 P.M.: A representative of a Newport Beach law firm just provided the Weekly with more details on what members of a class-action lawsuit would receive under a proposed settlement with Anthem Blue Cross and related insurance and healthcare companies over personal information ... More >>

Kenneth Joseph Lucas II Gets 13 Years for Running International Phishing Scam and Indoor Pot Farm

​UPDATE, JUNE 28, 2 P.M.: Sentences totaling 13 years for convictions in two cases have been given to Kenneth Joseph Lucas II, the "kingpin" of an international "phishing" operation that used spam e-mails and bogus websites to collect personal information used to defraud American banks. The 27- ... More >>

Me Arlene Settle Could Get Stiff Prison Sentence for Role in International Phishing Ring

​When federal indictments were announced in the fall of 2009 as part of Operation "Phish Phry," a multinational investigation conducted in the United States and Egypt that led to charges against 100 people, it was hailed as the largest number of defendants ever charged in a cybercrime case. Fiv ... More >>

[UPDATED] Luis Mijangos Guilty of Being Sextortion Hacker

​UPDATE, MARCH 22, 4:46 P.M.: Santa Ana's Luis Mijangos, who had previously pleaded not guilty to 16 federal charges, pleaded guilty Monday to two federal counts related to his tricking about 230 people into downloading a virus that allowed him to hack into their computers, and then extort from th ... More >>

[UPDATED, With Mouse Response] Lawsuit: Disney Encodes Its Workers' Social Security Numbers on ID Cards, Exposes Them to Identity Theft

​UPDATED, 1:59 p.m.: About 20 Disneyland workers stood outside the driveway that leads into the Grand Californian for a press conference announcing a class-action lawsuit against Disneyland. Although the suit portends to represent more than 20,000 Mouse minions, it was strictly a Unite HERE/progre ... More >>

Marwan Abdellatif, Douglas Nissan Manager, is Fugitive in Elaborate Customer Fraud Case

​The Orange County District Attorney's Office is reaching out to the public in its search for the former Douglas Nissan desk manager, who is accused of stealing the identities of unsuspecting customers and defrauding banks in the sale of used cars at the Orange dealership.A $2 million arrest warr ... More >>

[UPDATED:] Luis Mijangos, Alleged "Sextortion" Hacker, Pleads Not Guilty

​UPDATE: Luis Mijangos pleaded not guilty today to 16 federal charges, including conspiracy, mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, extortion, wiretapping and other counts. U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles F. Eick in downtown Los Angeles set an Aug. 9 status conference in the case.In the Marvel Comic ... More >>

Luis Mijangos Accused of Hacking Into Hundreds of Computers and Demanding Sex Videos or He'd Spill Females' Personal Info

​After a six-month FBI investigation into his alleged hacking, a 31-year-old Santa Ana man was arrested today on federal extortion charges that he hacked into dozens of computers, obtained personal data about people using the computers, and then demanded sexually explicit videos from girls and w ... More >>

Boobs or Bust

Jay Brockman​You want a brand spanking new set of breasts to replace your old implants, with a little liposuction on the side, but you don't have the $12,000 to pay for the surgeries. What do you do?

Pursuing the American Dream ... of Ponzi Schemes and Real Estate Fraud!?!

​A Newport Beach woman from India and her daughter were in court today to face charges that they and the woman's other daughter and son-in-law conspired to commit more than $16 million in real estate fraud.Meanwhile, the Korean-American chairman of an Irvine investment firm and his South Korean gi ... More >>

Locals Among Dozens Caught Up in International Criminal Phishing Scheme

No, not that kind of fish fry. ​Congratulations, Orange County! Some of your residents were among today's arrestees in the largest cyber crime case of its kind. "Operation Phish Phry," the first joint cyber investigation between Egyptian law enforcement authorities and United States of ... More >>

[¡Ask a Mexican!®] Special Dia de los Impuestos Edition

Face Off

A Little Saigon identity-theft ring pounded OC businesses until one cop saw a tear in its veil of secrecy

Disneyland Tourist Crime Alert

Don't be the amusement for a crook: As a public service to Disneyland's out-of-town visitors, we've compiled a summary of serious crimes committed in the city housing the "Happiest Place on Earth" for the period of July 3 to 9. Here are the reported crimes for the week: Stolen vehicles ......... ... More >>

Disneyland Tourist Crime Alert

Yes, the famous theme park calls itself the "Happiest Place on Earth" and countless kids and adults love the place with good reason, but there's a dark side to the Disneyland area. As a public service for park visitors please remember that the streets around Disneyland are crime magnets. If you d ... More >>