Illegal immigrant pleads guilty to ID theft

An illegal immigrant from Mexico who was living in Mesa, is facing at least two and a half years in prison for identity theft-related offenses after he bought a $33,000 truck and racked up nearly $800,000 in loans by using another person’s Social Security number, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced today.

Adan Guerrero, 37, pleaded guilty to one count each of identity theft and fraudulent schemes and artifices in Maricopa County Superior Court on Thursday.

Guerrero had used a false Social Security number to purchase the truck and took out $787,000 in loans by using someone else’s Social Security number, according to information from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. He also had used the Social Security number to purchase two cars on credit since 2001, the county attorney’s office said.

In addition, he had used the Social Security number to gain employment, the county attorney’s office said.

When Guerrero went to a local credit union to get a loan for the truck in June, a worker there realized that another customer had the same number, and called police.

At the time of his arrest in June, Guerrero told police they should be arresting real criminals and not a good family man, according to the county attorney’s office.

He will be sentenced on Feb. 11.