Ventura County – Some people apparently continue to have faith in the moral and legal sanctity of traditional mail depositories and pickup-and-delivery protocols. Based upon evidence unraveled pursuant to a search warrant served in the City of Thousand Oaks on March 5th, that faith may need to be reconsidered.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Dan Hawes, “Detectives with the City of Thousand Oaks Police Forgery/Fraud Unit and the Special Enforcement Unit” arrested Rosel Mayor Magistrado, 34, and Jeffery Robert Greenfield, 31, both residents of Agoura Hills, pursuant to that warrant on multiple charges stemming from “a forgery call” two months prior, in January 2015.
At that time, an alleged victim reported that he had “mailed” assorted utility bills along with personal checks by placing the stamped mail “in the mailbox for the postal carrier to pick up.” According to Hawes, after some weeks had passed and the victim was reviewing his bank records and statements, he noticed that the payee on a number of cleared utility bill checks had been manually changed along with the amounts paid.
When the Forgery/Fraud detectives dug into things, they discovered that Magistrado and Greenfield had deposited the victim’s checks into their personal accounts, as well as into additional accounts bearing false identities. It was eventually determined that Magistrado had created numerous identities with which she had leased a BMW, rented an apartment, paid her personal bills, and even bought dog food.
Pursuant to the March 5th search of Magistrado’s residence, she was found to be in possession of “miscellaneous mail, bank statements, checks, check books, driver licenses, social security cards, birth certificates, passports, credit cards, income tax W-4’s, 1099’s, cell phone numbers, and addresses for in excess of 250 persons.”
Whew.
Both Greenfield and Magistrado were arrested and booked into Ventura County Jail where she remains in custody with bail set at $250,000, while “Greenfield was released pending further investigation.
Photos: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
Read more:
Sespe Sun: Identity and Mail theft
EdHat: Identity/mail theft arrests
