A Lowell woman has been hit with a six-month prison term over her role in a stolen identity racket, where U.S. citizens' information was used in high-dollar vehicle heists – a scheme that ultimately saw a fleet of 47 vehicles and a stash of other goods worth over $2 million vanish into thin air. Arialka Moya, 35, found herself at the mercy of the court after pleading guilty last November to conspiracy to commit wire fraud among other charges, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Not just a one-time lapse in judgment, but Moya's treachery led her to a Massachusetts car dealership back in January 2019 where she tried to bag herself a vehicle worth over $60,000 using the identity of an unsuspecting U.S. citizen; Moya gave the salesman a fake Puerto Rico driver's license and a bogus Social Security card, in a desperate bid to get her hands on the car, and it wasn't the only occasion Moya, or her henchmen, would attempt such bold moves, they fraudulently opened or tried to open credit card accounts with a slew of nine stolen identities.
With Moya's sentencing, the curtain falls on a case that saw her as the last of the conspirators to face justice. Her gang of accomplices, each complicit in the shady operations that led to over $781,000 in restitution ordered for victims who came forth with claims; she'll now stay under the watchful eye of the law during three years of supervised release, including a year in the comfort of her own home, wearing the invisible shackles of home confinement, as per the decision of U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris.
The announcement of Moya's fate was delivered by Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and the heads of various law enforcement entities including Homeland Security Investigations' Michael J. Krol, and Massachusetts's very own interim top cop John E. Mawn Jr., along with Brockton Police Chief Brenda Perez, this powerhouse of justice was bolstered by the hands of local police in Lowell, Lawrence, and beyond, all crucial in cracking a case that took a Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force to bring down.
