For release on March 29, 2012 CONTACT PERSON:
Jennifer Deng, Deputy District Attorney
High Tech Unit
(408) 792-2875 SERIAL IDENTITY THIEF PLEADS TO 10 YEARS On March 22, 2012, Francis Humes, 28, of Monterey, CA, pleaded guilty to numerous counts of Unlawful Use of Personal Identifying Information, Grand Theft, Vehicle Theft with a Prior Conviction, Second Degree Burglary, Possession of Methamphetamine and Forgery. Humes also admitted to the Aggravated White Collar Crime Enhancement and an enhancement for committing crimes while out-on-bail. He will be sentenced to 10 years. From July to November, 2010, Humes went on an identity-theft crime spree in Santa Clara County. Using victims’ information, Humes created fake California driver’s licenses, passed fraudulent checks, opened fraudulent credit card accounts, illegally accessed victims’ credit card accounts and fraudulently rented hotel rooms. Using an assumed identity, he fraudulently leased a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz. These crimes occurred while Humes was out-on-bail awaiting sentencing on another identity theft case. When Humes was apprehended for his new crimes, police found with him numerous false identifications in various stages of production, stolen mail, stolen checks, a stolen laptop and methamphetamine. They also found the Mercedes. “Mr. Humes was a sophisticated identity thief,” Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Deng said. “However, thanks to the dedicated efforts of law enforcement, identity theft will not pay in Santa Clara County.” Humes is due to be sentenced on May 8, 2012, in Department 24 of the Santa Clara County Superior Court. This case was investigated by Palo Alto Police Department, Santa Clara Police Department, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, Campbell Police Department, and REACT, a Bay Area high-technology crimes and identity theft task force led by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. ###
Jennifer Deng, Deputy District Attorney
High Tech Unit
(408) 792-2875 SERIAL IDENTITY THIEF PLEADS TO 10 YEARS On March 22, 2012, Francis Humes, 28, of Monterey, CA, pleaded guilty to numerous counts of Unlawful Use of Personal Identifying Information, Grand Theft, Vehicle Theft with a Prior Conviction, Second Degree Burglary, Possession of Methamphetamine and Forgery. Humes also admitted to the Aggravated White Collar Crime Enhancement and an enhancement for committing crimes while out-on-bail. He will be sentenced to 10 years. From July to November, 2010, Humes went on an identity-theft crime spree in Santa Clara County. Using victims’ information, Humes created fake California driver’s licenses, passed fraudulent checks, opened fraudulent credit card accounts, illegally accessed victims’ credit card accounts and fraudulently rented hotel rooms. Using an assumed identity, he fraudulently leased a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz. These crimes occurred while Humes was out-on-bail awaiting sentencing on another identity theft case. When Humes was apprehended for his new crimes, police found with him numerous false identifications in various stages of production, stolen mail, stolen checks, a stolen laptop and methamphetamine. They also found the Mercedes. “Mr. Humes was a sophisticated identity thief,” Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Deng said. “However, thanks to the dedicated efforts of law enforcement, identity theft will not pay in Santa Clara County.” Humes is due to be sentenced on May 8, 2012, in Department 24 of the Santa Clara County Superior Court. This case was investigated by Palo Alto Police Department, Santa Clara Police Department, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, Campbell Police Department, and REACT, a Bay Area high-technology crimes and identity theft task force led by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. ###