May 9, 2007

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY MAN SENTENCED TO OVER FIVE YEARS IN IDENTITY THEFT CASE FOR FRAUDULENT CREDIT CARD USE

A Granada Hills man has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for committing identity theft by taking over credit card accounts belonging to others and by opening new accounts in the names of others.

Gary Michael Perard, 49, was sentenced to 61 months in prison on Friday afternoon by Senior United States District Judge Robert M. Takasugi in Los Angeles. In addition to the prison term, Judge Takasugi ordered Perard to pay $209,054 in restitution to banks he defrauded.

Perard pleaded guilty on December 11, 2006 to the fraudulent use of an unauthorized access device (credit card), possession of more than 15 unauthorized access devices, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

The investigation into Perard started one year ago when the Identity Theft and Economic Crimes Task Force received information from fraud investigators with Chase Card Services that fraudulent credit cards were being shipped to a mail drop in Sherman Oaks. When he pleaded guilty, Perard admitted that he used the identification of another person to rent a mailbox at “Personally Yours Mail Boxes,” which he used to receive credit cards that he fraudulently obtained. For example, in February and March 2006, Perard called Chase Bank and, impersonating one victim, he requested that a credit card be sent to the mail drop, which he later used to make an ATM cash withdrawal and various retail purchases. Perard also obtained credit cards in the name of “Duclas Perard,” which is the name of his father who died in January 2006.

When postal inspectors searched Perard’s residence and car in October 2006, they found numerous documents, including 17 identification cards with other persons’ photographs, approximately 82 different bank and credit card account numbers in other persons’ names, pay stubs and tax forms belonging to other people, and approximately 518 handwritten profiles containing personal identifying information.

“This sentence should serve as a strong deterrent to others who would consider stealing another's identity,” said Robert Malaby, Acting Inspector in Charge. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service-sponsored ITEC Task Force is dedicated to investigating identity crimes and bringing the perpetrators to justice.”

This case was investigated by members of the Identity Theft and Economic Crimes Task Force, which is made up of investigators with the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Secret Service and the Los Angeles Police Department.