Leaders of ID theft ring sentenced

One of the alleged leaders of a counterfeit check ring pleaded guilty to nine counts of identity theft and fraud in District Court on Wednesday and will spend only six months behind bars. Fletcher Schaffer, 35, pleaded guilty to six counts of identity theft, two counts of felony fraud and one count of misdemeanor fraud for his part in a counterfeit check ring that involved several suspects.

Schaffer was sentenced to two years of incarceration by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, with six months in prison and the remaining 18 months on electronic monitoring. Deputy District Attorney Peter Valencia said a three-and-a-half-year suspended sentence can be added if he violates terms of his release.

Reports from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said Schaffer and 22-yearold Regina Pacheco would go on “fishing trips,” with she and Schaffer stealing mail from about 50 boxes on three late-night trips to the Tesuque area. They kept bank information found in the mail.

Deputies caught Pacheco after a woman reported that a check from her account was wrongfully cashed at Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino. Deputies reviewed the check — which had Pacheco’s name on it, but the victim’s bank account information — and were able to identify Pacheco in surveillance footage.

A co-conspirator, Johnny Moreno, 47, will serve four years in prison as part of a plea deal he struck this week on fraud and identity theft charges for cashing fake checks at a Santa Fe Wal-Mart. Valencia said he and Schaffer were the leaders of operation. “They were both at the center of it,” Valencia said. “Johnny because he was involved in most of the purchases, and Fletcher because he seemed to be recruiting people and producing checks.”