HOUSTON – Two men have been ordered to federal prison following their convictions in a scheme in which they used stolen personal information to purchase several high end vehicles in the Houston area, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
Joel Cruz, 28, of Houston, and Darrion Wells, 27, of Beaumont, both pleaded to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft on May 28, 2015, and June 12, 2015, respectively.
Today, U.S. District Judge Nancy F. Atlas, who accepted the pleas, handed each man a sentence of 24 months for the conspiracy as well as an additional 24 months for the aggravate identity theft which must be served consecutively for a total of 48 months in federal prison. They were further ordered to pay $485,136.62 in restitution and must serve three years of supervised release following their release from prison.
Cruz and Ruffin, along with Devante Ruffin, 22, of Houston, have admitted they stole apartment complex leasing records to obtain the personal identifying information of the tenants. They then used that stolen information to make false driver’s licenses and other means of identification. Using that identification, they applied for loans to purchase high end automobiles at car dealerships in the Houston area.
The defendants took possession of the cars but never made payments on the fraudulently obtained loans. In total, the evidence demonstrated that they purchased 12 cars in this manner valued at approximately $480,000.
Cruz and Wells will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. Ruffin, also in custody, is scheduled to be sentenced May 3, 2016.
The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Houston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman is prosecuting the case.