Informant leads to ID theft conviction
Published 11:31 am Tuesday, May 15, 2012
An Austin woman who sold false IDs to a confidential informant last fall pleaded guilty and was convicted Monday of one felony charge in Mower County Court.
Sarah Ann Rojas, 32, was convicted of identity theft. She will be sentenced on July 13.
A confidential informant first met with a person on Aug. 23 about purchasing false identification, such as birth certificates and social security cards, according to the court complaint. The complaint then states that the informant went to meet with that same person, who did not show; however, the informant was then told to meet with a woman, Rojas, the court complaint.
The complaint states that Rojas showed the informant an example of a Texas birth certificate and said she could sell pairs of birth certificates and social security cards for $800, the complaint states. Detectives watched Rojas and learned that she lived at the 1700 block of Third Avenue NW and that she would be moving to the 600 block of First Avenue NW.
Detectives then arranged for the informant to meet Rojas at McDonalds, where Rojas sold the informant the documents. Police then arrested Rojas and found other false documents on her. Authorities also got a search warrant to another residence where they found Texas birth certificates, a U.S. social security card, a Minnesota ID, handwritten notes and a notebook with multiple names and social security numbers.
According to the complaint, Rojas said the informant was the first person to whom she ever sold identification and did so to buy clothes for her kids.
The maximum penalty for identity theft is 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.