Terry Goddard Announces 11 Restaurant Employees Indicted for Identity Theft

(Phoenix, Ariz. – March 31, 2008) Attorney General Terry Goddard today announced the indictment of 11 people associated with a Tucson identity theft ring. All the defendants were employees at a Panda Express restaurant located on North Swan Road in Tucson.

The 11 defendants were indicted on one count each of aggravated taking identity of another person, a class three felony. The indictments were the result of a three-month investigation conducted by the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Organized Crime Unit.

The defendants are:

  • Marlen Yobana Moreno-Peralta a.k.a. Marlen Martinez, 23.
  • Roselia Araceli Torres-Ruiz, a.k.a. Araceli Torres, 25.
  • Jose Guadalupe Pichardo-Rivera, a.k.a. Jose G. Rivera, 22.
  • Juan Alejandro Fontes-Trujillo, a.k.a. Juan Trujillo, 21.
  • Francisco Domingo Mondaca-Duarte, a.k.a. Franco Villareal, 22.
  • Artemio Marin Bustamante, a.k.a Artemio B. Marin, 23.
  • Rudy Garzal-Salas, a.k.a. Rodolfo Garzal, 37.
  • Dario Cruz-Diaz, 55.
  • Norberto Hernandez Ochoa, a.k.a. Norberto Hernandez, 34.
  • Rosa Nohemi Gutierrez Parra, a.k.a. Noemi P. Gutierrez-Parra, 29.
  • Omar Alfredo Espino-Lara, 24.

The defendants will be arraigned on Thursday, April 3 at 1 p.m. in Pima County Superior Court. If convicted, each faces up to 8.75 years in prison. All 11 defendants are undocumented immigrants and are being held under no bond in the Pima County Jail. Assistant Attorney General Doug Clark is prosecuting this case.