SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Raleigh Rana Figueras, 35, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, possession of stolen U.S. mail, and unlawful possession of five or more identification documents, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, between June 2015 and January 2016, Figueras along with his wife, Michelle Reyes Serrano, 35, of Sacramento, and others obtained victim identities and financial information from stolen mail and other stolen property. They obtained personal and financial information and used it to pose as the identity theft victims and use their stolen bank accounts, access device numbers, and altered checks to get money, goods and services from banks and merchants. Figueras created counterfeit driver’s licenses on his computer.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with the assistance of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and the Sacramento County Probation Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Rodriguez and Rosanne L. Rust prosecuted the case.
On December 15, 2016, Serrano pleaded guilty to bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and possession of stolen U.S. mail. She is scheduled to be sentenced on March 9, 2017.
U.S. District Judge Morrison E. England Jr. is scheduled to sentence Figueras on May 4, 2017. Figueras and Serrano each face up to 30 years in prison for bank fraud, five years in prison for possession of stolen U.S. Mail, and a mandatory two-year consecutive prison sentence for aggravated identity theft. Figueras additionally faces 15 years for possession of more than five identifications for use in the fraudulent scheme. The actual sentences, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.