2 Northeast Ohio Identity Thieves Sentenced To Prison

ELYRIA, OH — Two men accused of stealing identities have been sentenced to prison, the Department of Justice announced. Elyria police helped catch one of the men as he purchased a jet ski.

Ricardo Labrador-Ortiz, 46, was sentenced after pleading guilty to misuse of a social security number and one count of aggravated identity theft. Renzo Bienvenido Pimentel-Arias, 49, was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to two counts of of false claims of citizenship and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

Labrador-Ortiz worked with another man, Guillermo Alexander Cruz-Guerrero, to get an Ohio driver license and buy high-end vehicles and watercraft, court documents said.

On July 18, 2019, Cruz-Guerrero went to a store in Elyria and tried to buy two jet skis using a fake ID. He requested a $40,000 loan application and lied about his employment history, prosecutors said.

Cruz-Guerrero did not want to leave a down payment for the jet skis, but did want to leave with the jet skis as soon as possible, court documents said. Staff at the store checked his paperwork and flagged it as fraudulent. They told him to return the next day.

Elyria police were then told of what happened. When Cruz-Guerrero returned the next day and bought the jet skis, officers immediately took him into custody for fraud.

Police then learned a second person had driven with Cruz-Guerrero to the store. Officers stopped the car and identified the man as Ricardo Labrador-Ortiz. Both men were then taken into custody, prosecutors said.

When officers searched Labrador-Ortiz's car, they found fake driver licenses and numerous sets of keys for storage containers, court documents said. Detectives searched the storage units and found printing equipment and other document forging technology. They also found ID cards, drivers licenses, power of attorney forms, bank and credit card information, residency forms and car keys matching models of stolen cars, court documents said.

On Aug. 8, 2019, Elyria police were told the owner of the storage unit was coming to claim their belongings. Police then took Renzo Bienvenido Pimentel-Arias into custody, prosecutors said.

The FBI and Border Patrol worked with Elyria police to investigate the men. They learned Pimentel-Arias had received a fake ID from Cruz-Guerrero. Pimentel-Arias also had a long history of using fake identification documents in other states, prosecutors said.

Cruz-Guerrero was indicted on two counts of false claims of citizenship and two counts of aggravated identity theft. He is awaiting trial.