Couple Accused Of Stealing $124K Located: District Attorney

A Montgomery County couple being sought for the theft of nearly $125,000 from people through identity theft has been located, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman announced Wednesday.

Ferman, in a statement, said Eric and Portia Martin were located Tuesday. She did not say where or how.

The couple was arraigned in district court and bail was set at $75,000 each. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 11, the District Attorney said.

The couple, owners of Fort Washington-based Centra Spike Inc., an HVAC company, stole the money from multiple victims by creating credit accounts, the District Attorney said.

The Martins somehow obtained identifying information from eight people and applied for fraudulent loans to Synchrony Financial to pay for what they claimed to be “HVAC services,” according to the DA.

None of the eight victims, mostly seniors, had been patrons of Centra Spike, nor had any applied for loans to Synchrony Financial.