Bonita man charged with identity theft
On March 11, 2011, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the Las Vegas Police Department in reference to an identity theft investigation. The investigation revealed the victim, Felipe Rodriguez-Reyna, who lives in the Las Vegas area, discovered his identity was being used by an employee of WCI Communities Management in Bonita Springs. The victim became aware of this when he was notified by the IRS that he owed more than ten thousand dollars in unreported income tax for the year 2009.
Due to the nature of the incident, the case was assigned to detectives with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Economic Crimes Unit.
On April 1, 2011, investigators met with representatives of WCI and obtained information on a golf course maintenance worker named “Felipe Rodriguez.” When detectives located “Rodriguez”, they asked him his name. He replied “Felipe Rodriguez. He was then asked for identification. The suspect provided a Guatemalan Consular card with the name Alberto Francisco Matias-Baltazar (DOB 1/1/87), of 26251 Noble Lane, Bonita Springs. Investigators determined the identification was legitimate.
It was discovered that Matias stole Rodriguez’s identity by purchasing a fraudulent ID card for the purpose of gaining employment. Detectives learned the suspect had additional fraudulent documents at his home, where it was revealed he paid one thousand dollars per document (please see attachment). Deputies arrested him for Providing a False Name to Law Enforcement.
On April 6, Alberto Francisco Matias was additionally charged with four felony counts of Unauthorized Possession of an Identification Card and one felony count of Criminal Use of Personal Identification. He remains in the Lee County Jail. His inmate photo and additional information is available on the Sheriff’s Office website at www.sheriffleefl.org under Arrests & Inmates / Search Lee County Arrests.