DMV worker, 5 others charged in sophisticated identity theft scheme
Defendants allegedly used Puerto Rican birth certificates to create new identities
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A clerk at the California Department of Motor Vehicles office in El Monte and five others have been indicted on federal charges for allegedly selling legitimate birth certificates and Social Security numbers obtained from Puerto Rico to individuals willing to pay thousands of dollars to obtain new identities.
DMV clerk Tracey Lynette Jones, 33, of Long Beach, surrendered to federal authorities Monday and was arraigned Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court. Jones, who entered a not guilty plea, was released on a $25,000 bond and ordered to stand trial Nov. 24 before U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney. Continue reading