Merced County Sheriff Victim of Id Theft

Sheriff is victim of ID theft
Signature taken off Merced jail check

By Jim Steinberg
The Fresno Bee

MERCED -- A Merced County sheriff's investigation into identity theft hit home this week when a detective discovered one of the victims was Sheriff Mark N. Pazin.

Christina Valenti, 34, of Merced was arrested Thursday, less than a week after a March 5 arrest in connection with a fake check passed at the Merced Community College book store.

A search at Valenti's home yielded identification cards that had been reported lost or stolen, check stock paper and printing supplies, detectives said.

..One image in her computer, MacKenzie said, was Pazin's signature.

Valenti had lifted the sheriff's signature from a check she scanned from the Merced County Prisoner Trust Account, the Sheriff's Department said. The Merced County Jail issues checks to inmates when they are released...(Full story at www.modbee.com)

Actually, the Sheriff is not yet a victim of id theft as his signature was not used. However, had Valenti not been caught the County and he could have suffered - BIG TIME.

Now the only question remaining is - Did Valenti sell or give the signature to anyone else? Time will tell.

To learn more about Identity Theft and what to do if you are a victim, visit www.StopIdTheftCrime.com and subscribe to the newsletter to obtain your free 46 page eBook "Fighting Back Against Identity Theft".

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