Green Forest man charged in identity-theft case

A Green Forest man was arrested Friday after a California man reported that someone was trying to steal his identity.

Gerardo Castillo-Pedraza, 30, was arrested at his residence in Green Forest, according to a news release from the Carroll County sheriff’s office.

Fredi Jaimez of Bakersfield, Calif., contacted the sheriff’s office to report that someone in Green Forest was using his name to obtain a credit card, the release said.

The investigation revealed that a man with the same name as the victim lived in Green Forest and had previous arrests under that name, according to the release.

An investigator with the sheriff’s office submitted the prior arrest information and fingerprints to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for possible identification through the Alien Registration database. According to the news release, the agency confirmed that the individual was actually Castillo-Pedraza, who has no legal status in the U.S.

Investigators arrested Castillo-Pedraza on one count of financial identity fraud and six counts of nonfinancial identity fraud, all of which are felony offenses.

Castillo-Pedraza was held in the Carroll County jail until Tuesday when he was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Maj. George Frye with the sheriff’s office.

“Identity theft cases are very difficult to make and we were able to make that one, which I think is news worthy,” Frye said. “And also somebody was here illegally doing it.”