Suspects formally charged in fraud and theft case
News 11's Cody Lee speaks with YCSO to discuss the extensive investigation detectives faced
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - We are learning that the mail fraud crimes that happened in the Somerton area spanned for at least seven years and robbed at least 75 victims of their belongings. Two suspects accused of mail fraud and identity theft have been formally charged with a long list of crimes.
29-year-old Carlos Omar Gonzalez and 40-year-old Cecilia Gill face charges of fraudulent schemes, identity theft, trafficking in stolen property, and fraudulent use of credit cards.
YCSO worked endlessly going thru every lead. That's when investigators finally started piecing things together as leads began connecting.
“It appears that on multiple occasions, there was eyewitness accounts of them driving up to different mailboxes, and they were observed rummaging through mail, they use the victim's identities to open up credit card accounts or acquired other personal information that didn't belong to them,” Sgt. Edgar Guerra who works in the YCSO investigations unit.
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Investigators say they found stacks of mail inside their home.
“It's a lot of meticulous work that our investigators are doing to try and identify as many victims as possible, and hopefully let them know what's going on and bring them some kind of closure with it,” Sgt. Guerra said.
Deputies say multiple surveillance cameras captured the suspects making purchases and using ATM machines.
Sgt. Guerra recommends reporting any and all suspicious activity noting deputies don’t mind at least going to check things out.
Another way to protect yourself is getting to know the people around you.
“Work with your neighbors, you know, get to know them, discuss different methods of how you can watch each other's property to make sure if there is suspicious activity, you're not home all the time but your neighbor might be or vice versa when you're not home, they might be,” he advised.
Gonzalez and Gill are still in custody and are being held on a 100-thousand dollar bond. They are expected to be back in court next Wednesday for their preliminary hearing.
