Southern California ID Theft Trial

Jail Time for Oxnard Woman

October 5, 2001
An Oxnard woman has been sentenced to a year in jail for her role in a Southern California identity theft operation that victimized nearly 800 people, including a federal judge in Santa Barbara.

Donna Mendoza, 35, and Trever Ziese, 30, were accused of masterminding a traveling identity theft operation. Authorities said the two operated out of Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Camarillo and elsewhere. They allegedly used a variety of methods to steal the identity of others; they pilfered mail boxes, obtained guest records from a Ventura motel and used a stolen key that let them open post office boxes.

Police stumbled onto the pair while answering an unrelated call to the Comfort Inn in Camarillo. As police pulled into the hotel parking lot on June 7, Mondoza and Ziese fled from their room. Deputies chased them briefly but could not catch them.

A search of the pair's car and hotel room turned up a book of counterfeit checks, stolen driver's licenses, computer equipment and special software used to create bogus ID cards, police said.

Besides one year in jail, Mendoza was placed on three years probation and was barred from carrying blank checks or opening a check account during her probation. Ziese goes on trial Oct. 16.

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