5 plead guilty in ID theft scheme using Rideshare, delivery apps

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – The very last of 5 Brazilian nationals charged by San Diego federal prosecutors for functioning a nationwide scheme that concerned stealing the identities of rideshare and food items delivery application customers has pleaded guilty, the U.S. Attorney’s Office environment said Wednesday.

Prosecutors say that over the course of a few decades, the group stole info from victims’ driver’s licenses and Social Safety numbers, employed that information to create driver accounts for rideshare and shipping firms, then utilized, rented or offered all those accounts, which include to people who if not would not qualify to push for the firms.

The U.S. Attorney’s Business office states the defendants gained payments from the organizations and laundered the proceeds of the plan, which started in 2018.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, the defendants shifted absent from rideshare companies when desire for these providers diminished and moved largely to foods shipping and delivery products and services, which were being considerably more productive throughout the pandemic.

Prosecutors say that in addition to defrauding the application-centered corporations, the defendants also stole and employed the identities of nearly 100 people today. The U.S. Attorney’s Business did not detect which organizations had been utilized in the alleged scheme.

Gustavo De Avila Moreira Farinha, 30 Tatiane Pereira Arantes, 38 Natalia Magalhaes Rocha, 30 Leonardo Trulsen De Oliveira, 30, and Thassya Da Silva Alves, 30, had been charged very last calendar year and have considering the fact that pleaded guilty to conspiracy and aggravated id theft counts.

“As of now, all five defendants in this circumstance have admitted their elaborate scheme to steal the identities of hundreds of unsuspecting victims, several of whom turned to foods shipping and delivery expert services to survive the pandemic,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman explained. “Identification theft can be a nightmare of frustration and angst for victims who struggle to reclaim their great names. These defendants are the kinds battling now.”