March 31, 2007

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  NEWS: Bail Set High for ID Theft Suspect

  It's more than likely that Giovanni Mena will be cooling his heels in a jail cell until his day in court on charges of identity theft and possession of a document for false identification. Mena, 24, was arrested on suspicion of having used the identity of a Mexican man for years, say authorities in Carson City, Nevada. He is held on $110,000 bail.
  
  Per documents filed in conjunction with the case in East Fork Justice Court, Mena had stolen the identity of Jose Caldera-Avila, and was using that name to work as a contractor for Monteray Development Group at the Montaña project north of Genoa. Mena was using Caldera-Avila's birthdate in 1975 and had obtained a Social Security number and Nevada driver's license using the name. Mena admitted to having opened multiple bank accounts, bought at least one vehicle, and registered vehicles using Caldera-Avila's personal information. Furthermore, Mena fraudulently obtained a permanent resident alien card on January 10th to gain his employment with Monteray Development Group using the purloined identity and information.
  
  The real Jose Caldera-Avila is believed to reside in Mexico. Mena, who had one prior run-in with East Fork Justice Court for a 2001 incident of underage drinking, was arrested Monday after having been investigated by the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles about the fraudulent driver's license.
  
  
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