Four Arrested for Identity Theft--Possessing the Identifying & Personal Information of Over 100 Persons
Contact: Captain Martin Ticas
F.C.P.D., (650) 286-3300
On November 13th, 2018, about 8:45 p.m. a Foster City Police Officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that was involved in an earlier reported crime still under investigation by our police department. The investigation began days earlier when it was reported by Costco staff to the Foster City Police Department that a fraudulent check had been used to make a large purchase in their store. During the traffic stop on November 13th, the driver and three passengers were contacted by officers who were familiar with the ongoing investigation. Subsequently the driver was arrested for criminal violations related to the Costco check fraud case and for possession of narcotics. Through further detailed investigation, officers discovered the passengers had also committed criminal violations. Evidence of their crimes was located within the vehicle and in possession of the passengers. Consequently, the three passengers were also arrested.
Additional follow up investigation conducted by Foster City Police Department officers and detectives revealed mail and other documents containing personal identifying information for more than 100 persons. Additionally, equipment for making fake identification cards was found in the suspects’ possession. The various documents found are commonly used by criminals to create false identities to carry out fraudulent transactions such as obtaining credit cards, passing fake checks, purchasing a car, or renting a property—all in someone else’s name. The investigation revealed victims not only in San Mateo County, but also in Santa Clara County, Alameda County, and Contra Costa County. Documents were also found for potential victims as far away as Portland, Oregon, and Brooklyn, New York. The arrests stop the further and greater victimization of the people whose identifying information the suspects had and mitigates a potential aggregate loss in the hundreds-of-thousands of dollars. FCPD detectives will be working with U.S. Postal Service Inspectors and the police departments in the jurisdictions where the victims reside to complete this investigation.
Arrested for identity theft and fraud related criminal violations were the following suspects: Foster City resident, 32-year-old, Zachary Zitzer; San Jose resident, 24-year old, Stacie Giersch; San Jose resident, 28-year old, Andrew Pagador; and San Jose resident, 29-year old, Amanda Roethlin. All four suspects were booked into the San Mateo County jail on the charges.
The Foster City Police Department would like to provide the following links for information about preventing mail and identity theft: https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/ or https://oag.ca.gov/idtheft/facts/top-ten.
For crime prevention tips, please visit our website at www.fostercity.org/police.
JOE PIERUCCI
CHIEF OF POLICE
Tip Line: 650-286-3323
