Identity Theft

A Glendale lawmaker on Tuesday threw his support behind a bill that would strengthen the penalties against criminals stealing identities and give prosecutors more power in convicting and sentencing an identity thief. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Glendale) testified before a House judiciary subcommittee during a Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security hearing in favor of the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act. Schiff told the subcommittee that cities in the Los Angeles metropolitan area are prone to such crimes and ranks No. 2 nationally on the top 10 list of regions with the highest per capita rates of identity theft reported with more than 13,000 victims.

Darleene Barrientos A break-in at a local credit union could spell financial disaster for some of its 49,000 customers whose personal information was stolen. California Credit Union's customers received a letter this week about a burglary that occurred two weeks ago at its home office at 701 N. Brand Blvd. Two offices were broken into and ransacked, said Sandy Serpas, the credit union's executive administrative manager. "They went through everything, even the candy," she said.

GLENDALE ? Calling identity and credit theft a "scourge" and an "epidemic," Assemblyman Dario Frommer introduced legislation that will help nonfederal law enforcement officials more aggressively arrest, investigate and convict mail thieves, he announced Wednesday. More than 500 Glendale residents were among the 45,175 Californians who were victims of credit or identity theft in 2005, Police Chief Randy Adams said. "It is the challenge of the decade for law enforcement," said Adams, whose own credit card number was cloned and used to buy groceries in Nicaragua.

The following were taken from daily booking reports from the Glendale Police Department. 200 block of East Maple Street A 20-year-old woman was arrested May 11 on suspicion of spousal assault. 200 block of East Los Feliz Road A 27-year-old man was arrested May 11 on an outstanding warrant for theft or unlawful taking of a vehicle. Riverdale Drive and Central Avenue A 30-year-old man was arrested May 11 on an outstanding warrant for battery on a police officer.

A Los Angeles man and woman have filed a federal lawsuit against the Glendale Police Department, alleging a wrongful search last year during a traffic stop that led to their arrest. David Thompson Boyd, 51, and Patricia Marie Hale, 52, claimed in a U.S. District Court lawsuit filed March 5 that they were stopped on their way to dinner on Aug. 31, 2012 in Glendale for unknown reasons, searched without probable cause, arrested and denied bail. The pair are representing themselves. “It went from simply going to have dinner to all of a sudden being Bonnie and Clyde,” Boyd said, adding that he wants to know why the traffic stop escalated to an arrest.

A 21-year-old Burbank man faces identity theft charges this week after police found a re-encoded credit card in his home during a probation search. Gaik Panosian, who is on probation for identity theft, was arrested Tuesday after a Special Enforcement Detail officer recognized him near Doran Street and Concord as someone who detectives were looking for, Glendale police said. In February, detectives conducted a probation compliance search at Panosian's apartment and found a re-encoded credit card, police said.

The following were taken from daily booking reports from the Glendale Police Department. Area 1 700 block of South Brand Boulevard Artin Anagholoupian, 23, was arrested Oct. 17 on suspicion of possessing marijuana and dangerous drugs for sale. West Broadway and San Fernando Road Edward Lee, 36, was arrested Oct. 17 on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 100 block of Carr Drive David Capparilli, 23, was arrested Oct. 18 on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.

GLENDALE — A couple are scheduled to be arraigned Monday on charges that they had more than 200 blank access cards and fraudulent credit account paperwork for celebrities such as Tim Burton and Tommy Lee Jones, police said. Ex-convict Christopher Herrick, 43, and Traci Godlef, 42, were taken into custody about 11:17 p.m. Wednesday at the Glen Capri Inns and Suites in Glendale on suspicion of identity theft and forgery, according to police reports. Inside the motel, police also reported finding a credit history report with a Van Nuys address and the name "Gaylord Focker," a character in the film "Meet the Fockers.

A 31-year-old Glendale man who was allegedly wanted on an outstanding warrant was arrested Monday after he hid from police in a home attic during a probation search, officials said. Police arrived at Ricardo Van Rossen's home in the 900 block of South Glendale Avenue at about 9:20 p.m. after Orange County Probation Department issued the no-bail arrest warrant for Van Rossen, who was on probation for narcotics sales, according to Glendale police. Conditions in his probation allow officers to search his home, according to police.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Assemblyman Dario Frommer spoke to a crowd of more than 100 people at the Glendale Central Library on Thursday, describing pending legislation aimed at providing increased protection against identity theft. "This problem is becoming one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States," Frommer said. "And California is third on the list of most identity-theft crimes committed." Frommer's legislation, Assembly Bill 2886, currently in committee in the assembly, would make mail fraud a state crime, giving local law enforcement officials the ability to investigate and prosecute identity thieves, a procedure that is now confined to federal jurisdiction through the United States Post Office.

A 31-year-old Glendale man who was allegedly wanted on an outstanding warrant was arrested Monday after he hid from police in a home attic during a probation search, officials said. Police arrived at Ricardo Van Rossen's home in the 900 block of South Glendale Avenue at about 9:20 p.m. after Orange County Probation Department issued the no-bail arrest warrant for Van Rossen, who was on probation for narcotics sales, according to Glendale police. Conditions in his probation allow officers to search his home, according to police.

A Los Angeles man and woman have filed a federal lawsuit against the Glendale Police Department, alleging a wrongful search last year during a traffic stop that led to their arrest. David Thompson Boyd, 51, and Patricia Marie Hale, 52, claimed in a U.S. District Court lawsuit filed March 5 that they were stopped on their way to dinner on Aug. 31, 2012 in Glendale for unknown reasons, searched without probable cause, arrested and denied bail. The pair are representing themselves. “It went from simply going to have dinner to all of a sudden being Bonnie and Clyde,” Boyd said, adding that he wants to know why the traffic stop escalated to an arrest.

A Hollywood woman was arrested Wednesday after allegedly selling bogus Disneyland tickets on Craigslist in Glendale to at least half a dozen families, some of whom didn't learn of the fakery until being turned away at the theme park's gates. The woman, Alisa Yenokyan, 22, was taken into custody about 6 p.m. after she agreed to meet officers who posed as potential Disneyland ticket purchasers at Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, Police Det. Jonathan Owen said. The officers responded to one of her Craigslist ads and offered to buy two adult and two child tickets for $50 each, he said.

In real life, there's nothing funny about identity theft, as anyone who's gone through it can attest. (Believe me, I learned the hard way.) Unfortunately, if the new comedy "Identity Thief" is anything to go by, there's nothing funny about it on screen either. OK, not nothing funny. Let's be generous to director Seth Gordon and screenwriters Craig Mazin and Jerry Eeten and say there's not very much funny here. It's a film built around a simple log line: average nice guy must share a road trip with the resourceful sociopath who has destroyed his credit rating (and pretty much everything else in his life)

A 27-year-old Glendale man was arrested Tuesday on charges that he allegedly hacked into hundreds of online social networking accounts that belonged to women who he then extorted for naked pictures, officials said. Karen Kazaryan was charged with computer intrusion and aggravated identity theft as part of a 30-count federal indictment, which alleges he hacked into Skype, Facebook and email accounts to change the victims' passwords and set up the extortion, according to the U.S. District Attorney's Office.

The following were taken from daily booking reports from the Glendale Police Department. West Providencia Avenue and Victory Boulevard A 51-year-old man was arrested Dec. 16 on suspicion of identity theft and possessing drug paraphernalia. Gardena Avenue and Los Feliz Road A 39-year-old man was arrested Dec. 16 on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 700 block of Orange Grove Avenue A 44-year-old man was arrested Dec. 17 on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance and possessing drug paraphernalia.

A member of an Armenian crime ring was sentenced Wednesday to serve 25 years in federal prison for orchestrating an identity theft and bank fraud scheme while in prison. U.S. District Court Judge David Carter sentenced Arman Sharopetrosian, 33, of Burbank, and his fellow lead co-defendant, Angus Brown, 36, of Los Angeles for organizing a scheme to steal bank information from elderly victims, forging their signatures and depositing checks made out in large amounts to bank accounts created by co-conspirators, according to the U.S. district attorney's office.

The following were taken from daily booking reports from the Glendale Police Department. Honolulu Avenue and Thompson Court A 34-year-old man was arrested Oct. 26 on suspicion of identity theft. Colorado Street and Fischer Street A 30-year-old man was arrested Oct. 26 on suspicion of receiving stolen property. Windsor Road and Pepper Way A 22-year-old man was arrested Oct. 26 on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, driving on a suspended or revoked license, theft of lost property, and an outstanding warrant for violating a promise to appear in court or pay a fine.

A 26-year-old former Boy Scout employee pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he allegedly stole $28,820 from the organization's Verdugo Hills Council in Glendale. Donald Thurman, who worked part-time in the council's scout shop, faces five felony counts for identity theft, another five felony counts of forgery and a felony count of grand theft for stealing from the Boy Scouts of America, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. Rick Williamson, the local chapter's acting scout executive, said the council was “very disappointed” about the alleged theft, especially because of the ethics and values the Boy Scouts embody.

The following were taken from daily booking reports from the Glendale Police Department. 1600 block of Loma Crest A 23-year-old man was arrested Oct. 18 on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance. Colorado Boulevard and Sierra Villa Drive A 38-year-old man was arrested Oct. 18 on suspicion of identity theft, possessing methamphetamine and violating parole. Colorado Street and the Glendale (2) Freeway A 46-year-old man was arrested Oct. 18 on an outstanding warrant for being under the influence of a controlled substance.