FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 24, 2008
MARGARITA ALVAREZ GONZALEZ PLEADS GUILTY IN U.S. FEDERAL COURT
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Great Falls on July 24, 2008, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, MARGARITA ALVAREZ GONZALEZ, a 46-year-old resident of Great Falls, pled guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Sentencing is set for October 30, 2008. She is currently detained.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
A Great Falls woman, N.C., allowed Margarita Gonzalez, the daughter of a friend, to stay with her for a few months in the Spring of 2007.
On July 7, 2007, N.C. was admitted to Benefis Hospital. On August 1, 2007, she slipped into a coma and was placed on life support. On August 6, 2007, a friend of N.C.'s, who had an unexecuted power of attorney, convinced the landlord at N.C.'s apartment to evict GONZALEZ. N.C. remained on life support until her death on August 18, 2007.
Between early July and August 21, 2007, GONZALEZ, having taken several books of checks from N.C.'s apartment, wrote fraudulent checks to local businesses, sometimes representing herself as N.C., and sometimes representing herself as a legitimate payee of a check off N.C.'s account. The checks signed in the name of N.C. are clear forgeries, with no visible effort having been made to mimic N.C.'s signature. The amount of known loss is $3,800 during the 5 week period of the check writing spree.
GONZALEZ was interviewed and claimed that N.C. had pre-signed the checks. She claimed she had several more of the pre-signed checks with her but refused a search of her purse. A warrant was issued and although GONZALEZ did have several more books of checks on N.C.'s account, none were "pre-signed." Investigators pointed out to GONZALEZ that N.C. always signed her name using her middle initial, and that none of the checks transacted while N.C. was in the hospital carried the middle initial. Also, all of the suspect checks were written in the same ink and the same hand as the signature. GONZALEZ then confessed that some of the checks she wrote were without N.C.'s authority and carried forged endorsements.
Wells Fargo is, and was at the time, a federally insured bank.
GONZALEZ faces possible penalties of 30 years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine and 5 years supervised release. In addition, GONZALEZ faces an additional mandatory two year imprisonment, consecutive to any other sentence, for aggravated identity theft.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl E. Rostad prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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A copy of the Offer of Proof can be obtained by contacting Sally Frank at (406) 247-4638.
