A New Round Of ID Theft Suspects To Appear In Court

Ten new suspects accused of identify theft were scheduled to appear for arraignment in Jefferson County Court Wednesday morning, September 3, 2025.These are not part of a new case but, rather, more suspects linked to an investigation dating back to 2023. On Tuesday, November 21, 2023, following a nearly yearlong investigation, the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles Fraud Investigations Unit, in conjunction with the Jefferson and Saline County Sheriff Offices, Crete Police Department and the Omaha Office of Homeland Security Investigations, served arrest warrants in Fairbury and Crete. A total of eleven individuals were arrested and transported to local county jails.Most of those initial cases have competed their journey through the court system, with the majority of suspects pleading guilty.The new suspects were not arrested at that time but identified during the course of the investigation, which is ongoing. Jefferson County Sheriff Nicholas Georgi told FJN, “They are just continuing their investigation of people working under false documents within our jurisdiction. Same circumstances as all the last round just new defendants.”The news suspect scheduled for arraignment are: Fernando Ricardo Estrada Aguilar (alias Juan Amadar), age 52; Vilma E. Arias De Gomez (alias Sarah R. Gamez), age 53; Marvin Escalante Lopez (alias Adrian Gonzalez), age 31; Byron Binicio Escobar Monterroso (alias Joshua Cortez), age 30; Leonidas D. Monterroso Marroquin (Roel Coronado), age 20; Selvin W. Monterroso Monterroso (Javier Padilla Ortiz), age 35; Nehemias Joel Monterroso (alias Cesar Silva), age 33; Ingrid Josefi Ortega Escobar (alias Daisy Perez), age 35; Rolando Valazquez Merino (alias Ricardo Saenz), age 47; and Lenar G. Vidal Fernandez (alias Armando Rivera). age 40.Each suspect has been charged with three counts: Identity theft with a value of $5,0000 or more, a class 2A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison; Second degree forgery, also a class 2A felony; and Criminal impersonation, a class 2 misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.There are arrest affidavits for some but not all of the defendants. They indicate that audits were done in April of 2024 by Homeland Security Investigation at Westin Packaged Meats in Fairbury and at Endicott Clay Products in Endicott.

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