ID thief takes plea deal

A felony forgery charge against a woman who reportedly stole an identity to work in Austin has been dismissed.

As part of a plea deal, Carmen Lazaro-Cacari, 26, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor identity theft. The felony forgery by false identification charge was dismissed. Lazaro-Cacari was issued supervised probation but must pay $1,000 in restitution to the victim.

A police inquiry from Texas originally revealed that a woman living in Austin was using another’s identity to work at Austin Packaging Company. A Texas woman told her local authorities that someone stole her identity and was using it at Austin Packaging Company, according to the complaint. A detective was led to Lazaro-Cacari and arrested her at her home at the 600 block of North Main Street in Austin on July 27. The complaint adds Lazaro-Cacari voluntarily gave the detective her documents, which included the victim’s birth certificate and social security card. Lazaro-Cacari allegedly used the documents to get a Minnesota ID.

The detective also found an EBT card for food assistance, medical documents from Mower County Human Services revealing her true identity, a Mexico Matricula card and Mexico birth certificate.

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