May
19
SANTA BARBARA, CA – 5/17/2007. A Ventura man is in custody today for committing identity theft against a Massachusetts woman. Francisco Vences, age 27, was arrested yesterday by detectives at his workplace in the 600 block of East Montecito Street. The investigation began when a 24-year-old Boston woman received a letter from the California Franchise Tax Board. The letter stated that she had not declared $42,000 income in her 2005 taxes and owed $1,700 in late taxes and penalties. The woman investigated and discovered the income was paid by a Santa Barbara based construction company. The woman called the construction company and was told that their employee Vences had earned the money and was using her social security number. She reported her findings to police. Detective Andy Hill investigated and discovered that, in addition to the victim and Vences, two other people were fraudulently using the victim’s social security number in Rhode Island and Georgia. Detectives know it is common for numerous fake social security cards to bear the same number.
Yesterday morning, Detectives arrested Vences at his construction workplace. They recovered the tattered bogus social security card in his wallet. Vences explained that ten years ago he illegally entered the U.S. from Mexico. He needed a social security number and a Resident Alien Card in order to get a job. An acquaintance introduced him to a man who, for a price, supplied him with counterfeit documents. Vences began using the social security number seven years ago. He began filing income taxes under the false social security number four years ago. With time, his pay increased to a yearly income of $42,000. Vences did not intend to cause problems for the victim in this case. However, using her social security number has exposed her to legal entanglement with income tax officials. In addition, Vences had credit cards and a credit history, which normally require a social security number. Vences was booked for identity theft, falsely impersonating another person, and possession of counterfeit identification, bail $20,000.
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