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Date: 05-23-2023
Case Style:
Case Number: 3:23-cr-00032
Judge: Robert E. Payne
Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Henrico County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States Attorney’s Office in Richman
Defendant's Attorney:
Description: Richmond, Virginia criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with fraud and identity theft charges in connection with stealing the identity of the owner of a Richmond auto shop, Lotsey & Hardy Tire Company.
According to court documents, around January 2022, Daniel Cruz, 30, obtained the owner’s personal information and used that information to take over the auto shop and its owner’s accounting software, bank accounts, email addresses, and phone numbers. Through approximately February 2023, armed with this sensitive information, Cruz re-routed calls placed to Lotsey & Hardy to his own phone, transferred money to his personal bank account from bank accounts of the shop and its owner, took out loans in the owner’s name, ordered and picked up auto parts in Los Angeles and billed them to the Richmond auto shop, and ordered auto parts by impersonating the shop’s owner. In all, the loss resulting from Cruz’s crimes totaled at least $34,514.87.
Cruz is scheduled to be sentenced on August 31. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 2 consecutive years in prison for aggravated identity theft, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for wire fraud. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Kyo M. Dolan, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after Senior U.S. Magistrate Judge Summer L. Speight accepted the plea.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shea Gibbons is prosecuting the case.
The Central Virginia Financial Crimes Task Force, created in 2022, is a partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and representatives of local financial institutions. Co-chaired by the Richmond Field Office of the United States Secret Service and the Washington Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Task Force utilizes the knowledge and experience of its many partners to develop intelligence and pursue investigations into crimes that target or involve financial institutions located throughout the Central Virginia region.
18:1343 AND ALL IN ACCORDANCE WITH 18:981(a)(1)(C) INCORPORATED BY 28:2461 & 21:853(p): WIRE FRAUD; FORFEITURE ALLEGATION
(1)
18:1343 AND ALL IN ACCORDANCE WITH 18:981(a)(1)(C) INCORPORATED BY 28:2461 & 21:853(p): WIRE FRAUD; FORFEITURE ALLEGATION
(2)
18:1341 AND ALL IN ACCORDANCE WITH 18:981(a)(1)(C) INCORPORATED BY 28:2461 & 21:853(p): MAIL FRAUD; FORFEITURE ALLEGATION
(3)
18:1028A & 2: AGGRAVATED IDENTITY THEFT
(4)
18:1028A & 2: AGGRAVATED IDENTITY THEFT
(5)
Outcome: 05/23/2023 16 Minute Entry for proceedings held before Magistrate Judge Summer L. Speight: Plea Agreement Hearing as to Daniel Cruz held on 5/23/2023; Rule 11 Waiver submitted; Deft rearraigned on Counts 1 and 4 of the Indictment and entered plea of guilty; Court accepted plea; Govt moved for detention; Arguments heard; Findings stated from the bench; Bond revoked and Defendant remanded pending Sentencing set for 8/31/2023 at 11:00 AM in Richmond Courtroom 7400 before District Judge Robert E. Payne. (FTR)(mful) (Entered: 05/23/2023)
05/23/2023 17 Waiver of Right to Rule 11 before a US District Judge by Daniel Cruz.(mful) (Entered: 05/23/2023)
05/23/2023 18 Statement of Facts as to Daniel Cruz.(mful) (Entered: 05/23/2023)
05/23/2023 19 PLEA AGREEMENT as to Daniel Cruz.(mful) (Entered: 05/23/2023)
05/23/2023 20 Order for sentencing guidelines as to Daniel Cruz. Signed by Magistrate Judge Summer L. Speight on 5/23/23. (mful) (Entered: 05/23/2023)
05/23/2023 21 REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS on Plea of Guilty as to Daniel Cruz; Objections to R&R due by 6/6/2023. Signed by Magistrate Judge Summer L. Speight on 5/23/23. (mful) (Entered: 05/23/2023)
05/23/2023 22 ORDER as to Daniel Cruz REVOKING Defendants bond and REMANDING Defendant to the custody of the United States Marshal pending his sentencing hearing currently scheduled for August 31, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. before Senior United States District Judge Robert E. Payne - See Order for Details. Signed by Magistrate Judge Summer L. Speight on 5/23/23. (mful) (Entered: 05/23/2023)
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: