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Vista man gets 10 years in ID theft plea deal
By: COLLEEN MENSCHING - Staff Writer | ∞
A Vista man who authorities say ran an identity-theft ring on behalf of a white supremacist prison gang pleaded guilty Wednesday in Orange County Superior Court to 24 counts of theft and forgery.
Authorities say he may be just one of nearly 100 people involved in a larger criminal operation.
Michael Alexander Hartsell, 50, owner of Vista-based First Choice Mortgage, faced 96 years in prison if convicted of all 187 counts against him, according to prosecutor David Demurjian. At Wednesday's hearing, Hartsell was sentenced to 10 years.
In March, Hartsell and three other North County residents were arrested at Hartsell's home. There, according to police, his company facilitated some legitimate loans, but was also a front for stealing personal information used to defraud more than 250 individuals and retailers of more than $500,000.
A fifth suspect was considered a fugitive until sheriff's deputies arrested her in June on an unrelated matter.
Demurjian said criminals have realized that financial crime can be more lucrative and less risky than traditional street crime.
"They're able to generate more money out of these transactions ... than sticking up the local liquor store, which is (worth) $300 or $400," Demurjian said. "Mr. Hartsell's group is reflective of that new business model."
Demurjian declined to comment specifically on portions of the case that involve prison inmates, but did say that the pool of possible suspects is hovering around 75 people and is likely to grow.
In the Hartsell case, charges ran the gamut from opening fraudulent credit card accounts to forging California identification cards to commercial burglary.
While Hartsell's ring is believed to be responsible for 250 victims, the number of victims affected by connected rings is closer to 1,000, Demurjian said.
The Orange County Sheriff's Department initiated the investigation, which grew to include the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, the Secret Service, San Marcos sheriff's detectives, and Escondido, Carlsbad and San Diego police departments.
Three of Hartsell's co-defendants have also entered plea agreements, according to officials.
Demurjian said that William Andrew Padworski, 47, of Oceanside, took a deal with two years and eight months in prison and that Patricia Ann Mcintosh, 42, of Vista, will soon be sentenced.
Natasha Chiara DiLorenzo, 31, of Oceanside, has already been sentenced to two years, court records show.
In March, a judge issued a warrant for Laurrisa Laurrainne Ballow, 39, who remained a fugitive until her June 2 arrest by San Diego County deputies on unrelated charges.
Ballow is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 14, according to court records. County booking logs show she remains in custody.
Lt. Hernando Torres of the Sheriff Department's financial crimes division said that there is a simple and affordable piece of technology that can help prevent identity theft before it occurs: a paper shredder.
Though much fraud involves computers, even more of it starts with bills, credit card offers and other paper documents that contain personal information and are simply chucked into a trash can rather than destroyed, Torres said. He has even recommended giving shredders as Christmas gifts.
"It sounds funny ... but it can save a lot of headaches," he said. "Even as we speak, there are scavengers on the outside looking for those documents."
Contact staff writer Colleen Mensching at (760) 739-6675 or cmensching@nctimes.com.
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Adam wrote on Aug 23, 2007 11:07 PM:Wow two stories of White gangs and two stories of Hate speech by Americans just today. The NCT is getting very desperate. The Agenda continues........
What's up with that wrote on Aug 24, 2007 1:01 AM:And I thought it was damned illegals doing all this identity theft. HHHHUUUMMM!!!
Greg in Oceanside wrote on Aug 24, 2007 4:30 AM:I have a real hard time swallowing the sentences these people received, all of which should have been double what the received. I'd be willing to bet most will return to the life of crime once they're released.
Jack wrote on Aug 24, 2007 6:41 AM:It took Orange County law enforcement to go after these North County crooks. I wonder if we should call Orange County to report some more local thugs that are walking the streets with immunity? Why not Oceanside is a harboring city for every criminal activity know to man.
Deport-em wrote on Aug 24, 2007 7:18 AM:Great job OCSD keep the trash off the streets and business market. Wow I thought only Illegal aliens were commiting all the crime. Deport-em back to White-Sugermany.
Criminals are criminals wrote on Aug 24, 2007 7:25 AM:Hey maybe NCT are trying to be fair and balanced, by also exposing the other kind of trash. I think some people may not like any of the nsgative focus going off the usual topic and comming closer to home.
jr wrote on Aug 24, 2007 7:30 AM:Only 5 years for the ring leader... should be (advertised on TV) 7 year minimum term...for all violators! Good job catching the few; good luck bringing the rest of them to justice.
Stephan wrote on Aug 24, 2007 8:06 AM:The amount of time these guys are getting is laughable.... they ruin 1000 people's lives and credit and the one guy gets two years and the ringleader himself only gets five years in prison.... no wonder identity theft is the biggest crime in America.... there is no risk and if you do get caught you will be out in a few months... Our government needs to start taking this crime seriously and put these people away for a long time.... instead they get a slap on the wrist... I bet half of the people they catch in this ring only get probation because this is a non-violent crime.... but if you identity gets stolen, it feels more like rape.... ONE IN THREE Americans will have their identity stolen in their lifetimes... did you know that most local police agencies will not even pursue this kind of crime.... it was only because this was a big crime ring that they even were taken down... there are thousands of similar operations going on right here in San Diego county right now but they will never feel the heat because they are one of the lowest priority crimes.... they are almost guaranteed to never get caught and you can see what happens when they do.... almost NOTHING... We all need to pressure our officials to start going after these criminals because it IS important and it DOES have a higher priority than they are giving it... time for us all to speak up...
Floyd wrote on Aug 24, 2007 8:26 AM:I object to the concept of crime as a "business model" and wish Demurjian had called it a "method of operation" (MO) instead.
Make them pay wrote on Aug 24, 2007 9:43 AM:I am appalled at the light sentences people who commit identity theft routinely receive. These criminals are often responsible for ruining the credit of numerous victims and stealing thousands of dollars (or more) from each victim. They cause an immense amount of work for all of the credit and banking institutions not to mention the personal heartache and work each victim must do to get their credit back on track. When will the judges and prosecutors start treating them as the criminals that they are and set an example??? I'm sick of the leniency. Identity theft is not a "victimless" crime!
No. County Reader wrote on Aug 24, 2007 9:56 AM:I agree with make them pay...not harsh enough sentences. A paper shredder does not help when these criminals get to the mail before you do or go on-line and steal your information !!!
I wonder wrote on Aug 24, 2007 11:57 AM:if any of these people that bought fake ID, found out the real person was wanted on a murder charge?
So Cal Native wrote on Aug 24, 2007 12:08 PM:The reason there sentences are so light is because, their white. Hello! If it would have been an illegal, they would of slapped it to him. Well, at least they got caught and will be going to the Federal Hotel! Down with these types of groups, this isnt 1941 Germany.
Get Real wrote on Aug 24, 2007 1:38 PM:If these criminals had been illegal aliens they would just have been deported (maybe) with no punishment. It happens all the time.
I'm confused? wrote on Aug 24, 2007 2:51 PM:Did he get convicted because he was a thief/crook or a white supremast? If he were a politician he wouldn't have been convicted at all. If he worked for a city in southern california, he'd get paid leave for a year.
White Supremacist Prison Gang wrote on Aug 24, 2007 3:02 PM:This is mentioned in the opening sentence, although it is not elaborated on nor is it further substantiated by fact in the article. What is the name of the gang? From which prison is the gang directing Hartsell's alleged criminal enterprise? Is Hartsell himself a white supremacist? Are Hartsell's alleged co-conspirators, including Natasha Chiara DiLorenzo, also white supremacists? Finally, will the NC Times begin to accurately refer to groups like MECHA and the National Council of La Raza ("THE Race") as brown supremacists? There is no excuse for racism, racial intolerance, hatred, or racial separatism, whether it's at the hand of white-skinned Neo-Nazis, black-skinned Black Panthers, or brown-skinned Mechistas who are self-proclaimed members of LA RAZA. End racism!
Math Teacher wrote on Aug 24, 2007 9:16 PM:How did we go from a prison sentence of 96 years to 10 years? Was the DA's office grading on a curve?
JSten wrote on Aug 25, 2007 1:26 PM:The prison sentence is over in a few years or months, yet the misery of the victims goes on, and on, and on, and on ... well, you get it.
A Mexican wrote on Aug 26, 2007 3:06 PM:Hmmmmm..... what was the race of this crooked US Citizen again????? He should be deported back to Germany!
lesson from a cop. wrote on Aug 26, 2007 10:27 PM:Take heed at this as a lesson for the general public. Our court system is run by plea bargains. if plea bargains were not the norm, the courts would be even more overburdened, not to mention the jails and prisons. Federal mandates on the jails and prisons limit the amount of inmates incarcerated at any time, and early release is the norm. Police spend hundreds of hours on cases involving individual ID thieves, let alone rings of crooks. ACT NOW. Contact the legislature and demand mandatory minimum sentences for ID theft and more prisons. Let's face it, the number of criminals is not diminishing. Look at the ages of the suspects, from late forties to 20's. If we are to keep crime down and crooks away from law abiding citizens, we need stiffer penalties and more jails.
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