Santa Clara Police Arrest 2 Women In $100K Identity Theft Scheme, Over 100 Potential Victims
SANTA CLARA (BCN) – Police arrested two people Thursday on suspicion of stealing the identities of more than 100 potential victims.
Following an investigation that began in January, police arrested Edwina Bogan and Shawnece Ford on suspicion of illegal possession of many items, including personal identifying information from more than 100 people, drugs, ammunition, stolen mail and a taser.
The arrests culminate an investigation that began several weeks ago with the report that one person's identity had been stolen, according to a statement the Santa Clara Police Department issued Monday. That person's identity and others were later used to fraudulently rent apartments in the 3500 block of Monroe Street in Santa Clara and in the 1700 block of Newbury Park in San Jose, along with five other apartments in the region.
Police said Bogan and Ford exploited the state and city moratoriums on evictions and maintained the rental properties for several months without making monthly payments, incurring more than $100,000 in unpaid rent.
In these same neighborhoods during the time of these fraudulent rentals, there were spikes in package and mail thefts and vehicle burglaries, police said.
The investigation also found five more apartments Bogan and Ford rented using stolen identities, police said. The investigation is ongoing, and police continue to locate victims of identity theft.
The Federal Trade Commission provides information on how to prevent becoming a victim of identity theft as well as tools to recover from identity theft at https://www.identitytheft.gov/.
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