The purely hypothetical situation continued...

Yesterday we discussed a purely hypothetical situation where someone who was down on their luck with a good credit history sold their identity to make a buck.  Continuing along with that theory, we have to ask ourselves, how did the guy who sold his identity and credit get to the fraudsters?  Perhaps they were sitting at a bar together and started talking about fraud and how to rip off banks?  

Maybe they met on a bus?  




Or perhaps at a baseball game...



Or maybe they were introduced by a "broker", someone that deals in stolen identities and credit fraud?  We sincerely doubt you just happen to randomly come across a name, social security number and employment history of someone who's credit worthy for an over half a million dollar fraud, correct?  Just like the junkie knows where to go to get his hit, people know where to go to get what they need whether it's drugs, money, prostitutes or money for selling your identity for a Straw Buyer scam.  What we're proposing is that our down and out Straw Buyer sold his identity to one such "broker" who then turned around and used his identity to conduct several frauds before the Straw Buyer was busted out and no longer credit worthy.  See where we're going?

Now, once all these frauds are committed using our Straw Buyer, why the hell would he turn around and call the cops after what could have been a nearly half a million dollar profit?  Could it have been Straw Buyer remorse?  We doubt it.  Or did the Straw Buyer get screwed by the "broker"?  Maybe the Straw Buyer got shorted on his share of the proceeds?  Perhaps they lied about what his cut was going to be?  Or maybe they turned around after pocketing the money and told the Straw Buyer that the deal didn't happen at all perhaps knowing that he couldn't call the cops since his name and real signature was all over the original purchase contract and all the loan applications?  Pure conjecture, but plenty of  explanations as to what could have taken place...

So enough with the hypothetical crap.  Whether Bernardo Barrera was actually involved in the Oak Avenue Mortgage fraud, one has to ask, how the hell did the fraudsters get his identity?  Was he an acquaintance of one of the people charged?  Was he a previous client of one of the fraudsters who just happened to keep his information on file?  Was he a client of a friend of one of the fraudsters who then turned over his information for a fee?  Or did he sell his identity to a master identity theft and mortgage fraud ring who then brokered the identity to one of the people charged in the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud?  I'm gonna guess the later.  The proof is right here in this blog and throughout the states paperwork, problem is Detective Baluja and ASA Kostrzewski either couldn't see it or didn't want to see it as the truth would have destroyed their case...