newjerseynewsroom.com

Used fraudulent credit to spend $118,000

Diorgiton Silva, a Brazilian national and a former Livingston resident, was indicted Friday on charges he obtained credit cards and lines of credit with a stolen identity and used them to make purchases of goods and services totaling approximately $118,723.

State Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa said Silva, 29, was indicted on charges of theft by deception, identity theft and fraudulent use of a credit card. The charges stem from a joint investigation by the state Division of Criminal Justice, the U.S. Secret Service Newark Office, and the New York Office of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

It is alleged that between April 2005 and November 2009, Silva used the identity of a man who lives in Puerto Rico to obtain credit cards and lines of credit with retailers and banks. He purchased the $118,723 in goods and services with the fraudulent credit. The investigation revealed that Silva used the man’s birth certificate and other identifying information to get a U.S. passport and a New Jersey identification card. With those documents, he secured the lines of credit, which he used to buy, among other things, an Infiniti car, a Honda motorcycle, furniture, clothing, and high-end televisions and stereo equipment. After making the purchases, he failed to make any payments to the retailers and financial institutions.

Deputy Attorney General Sarah Lichter presented the case to the state grand jury.

Silva was arrested on a warrant in January 2011 as a result of this investigation. Silva, who is not a U.S. citizen, is the subject of a detainer filed against him by federal immigration authorities.

Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree crimes carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

The indictment was handed up to state Superior Court Judge Mary C. Jacobson in Trenton, who assigned it to Union County, where Silva will be ordered to appear at a later date to answer the charges.

--TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM