Elenilson Ceron, age 25, of Newland was sentenced March 24th to 26 months in prison for using stolen identification documents to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Ceron was also ordered to serve two years under court supervision after he is released from prison.
According to filed documents and court proceedings, in November 2019, Ceron and his co-defendant, Jennifer Pardo, engaged in a scheme to defraud financial institutions by securing loans in the names of identity theft victims. Ceron and Pardo obtained the victims’ personal identifying information through personal checks, credit cards, medical documents, and other sensitive information the defendants stole from the victims’ mailboxes, homes, and vehicles, or the home computers of friends and family members. Using the stolen information, the pair opened bank accounts and credit accounts and took out personal loans in the victims’ names.
In this manner, court records show that the defendants obtained at least $6,500 in unlawful proceeds.
Ceron and Pardo pleaded guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Pardo was previously sentenced to 30 months in prison for her role in the scheme.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.
