Bronx Man Arrested For ID Theft, Fake Credit Card

OSSINING, NY — A Bronx resident was arraigned Wednesday on a 14-count indictment that included identity theft. Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. said a grand jury charged Jose Cabrera, 55, of the Bronx, with the following:

• Seven counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, felonies
• Second-degree identity theft, a felony
• Fourth-degree attempted grand larceny, a misdemeanor
• Four counts of second-degree criminal impersonation, a misdemeanor
• Third-degree unlawful possession of a personal identification information, a misdemeanor

Scarpino said, in four separate incidents on the same day, Cabrera went into People’s United Bank branches with a forged Connecticut driver’s license which had a photo of himself but contained identifying information of another man, who was the victim.

At branches in Mount Vernon, Yonkers, Ossining and Thornwood, he tried to access the same victim’s accounts.

Even though his first attempt failed, he kept trying and was arrested the fourth time.

According to police, the timeline on March 30 for Cabrera’s attempts were:

• 2:23 p.m, Yonkers branch — He requested a bank balance, providing the teller with a forged Connecticut license. Some information he gave to the teller did not match the bank’s files. The attempt was unsuccessful.
• 2:55 p.m., Mount Vernon branch — Presenting himself as the victim, he requested a printout of the real victim’s checking account history. He showed the same forged license to the teller and she printed his history for him.
• 4:01 p.m., Ossining branch — Cabrera requested a replacement debit card for the victim’s checking account showing the forged license. The teller denied the transaction because the ID did not match the bank’s records. This branch disseminated a bulletin to other branches warning of the potential scam.
• 4:44 p.m., Thornwood branch — Less than an hour later, he tried again using the same forged license and a forged Discover card bearing the victim’s name. He presented a withdrawal slip for $1,750 from the victim’s checking account. Knowing a bulletin had been circulated about this scam, the teller notified management and they called the police. Cabrera was at the branch while he was still using the victim’s name. Mount Pleasant police recovered the withdrawal slip, the forged Connecticut driver’s license and a forged credit card bearing the victim’s name.

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