Contra Costa County: Identity Theft
11/29/2010
Contra Costa County: Identity Theft
A Caregiver for a dependant adult in Walnut Creek was arrested after the victim learned that someone had stolen her credit card and made over $18,000.00 in charges. The caregiver was identified through surveillance photographs as the person using the card. The caregiver was arrested when she arrived at the victim’s residence for her shift. Search warrants were served on a residence in Oakland where the suspect rented a room. Property purchased with the stolen credit cards was found in the room, which included all of the furnishings. Additional items of property belonging to the victim were also found in the residence. The identification of the additional stolen property prompted the victim and her family to check on other valuables stored in the home. The victim found that fur coats and items of jewelry valued at over $40,000.00 were also missing. Through interviews with associates of the suspect a storage unit was identified and searched. The search yielded additional stolen property that was recovered. Pawn slips were found in the suspect’s residence and vehicle which lead investigators to recover additional jewelry which had been pawned.