Identity theft arrests

A new Orange County federal law enforcement task force has arrested nearly 50 people, including four Huntington Beach residents suspected of identity theft.

Federal prosecutors on Friday held a news conference in the Ronald Reagan Federal Building in Santa Ana to discuss 15 cases put together over the last year by the Orange County Identity Theft Task Force.

Using agents and investigators from the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Social Security Administration, Federal Trade Commission, the FBI and the Secret Service, the task force helped build cases against this growing white-collar crime.

Two of the four cases involving Huntington Beach residents were part of Operation Broken Trust, which concentrated on scams involving the mortgage business.

The Secret Service led the investigation, and Asst. U.S. Atty. Robert Keenan will prosecute it.

Mortgage broker John James Sena, 38, of Huntington Beach, was arrested earlier this year for allegedly selling credit account information through his access to a credit check service used by the loan company where he worked, prosecutors said.

Thomas Patrick Hyde, 40, also arrested as part of Operation Broken Trust, was charged along with Kara Lee Jensen of Brea, with possession of stolen credit account information and aggravated identity theft.

Hyde and Jensen, 25, allegedly stole loan dossiers and credit reports from hundreds of people through burglarizing mortgage companies, Keenan said.

Both were arrested on Oct. 4. At the time of their arrest, they were found using stolen credit material online, Keenan said. Some of the documents found with them were reported stolen from a mortgage company in the Brea area.

If found guilty, Sena, Hyde and Jensen could face up to 12 years in federal prison.

In another task-force investigation, Tuan Le, 32, of Huntington Beach, was arrested in July and charged with four counts of fraud.

Between October 2005 and February of this year, Le allegedly used counterfeit driver’s licenses and Social Security numbers to sign up for several Target credit accounts throughout Orange County.

Le, who worked for Washington Mutual Bank, was discovered by Target fraud investigators, who contacted the Secret Service in January.

Held without bond, Le is scheduled to go to court on Nov. 14.

Eric Smole, 40, of Huntington Beach, was charged with 10 counts of wire fraud, possession of counterfeit credit cards and identity theft.

According to a news release from U.S. attorneys, Smole allegedly used advertisements in the Wall Street Journal to find businesses for sale. Using the personal information of the owners, Smole would assume a business’ identity, open phony offices and obtain and use credit in the company’s name, Asst. U.S. Atty. Jennifer Waier said Friday.

Smole allegedly defrauded banks out of more than $1.5 million, prosecutors said.

Smole, who is free on $700,000 bond, is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 13, 2007.

Waier will prosecute both cases.