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From our partners at the Colorado Attorney General's Office 11/08/2016‚ Colorado Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman announced today that Jose Ricardo Sarabia-Martinez, of Denver was sentenced to 24 years in prison after being found guilty of multiple counts including felony violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act (COCCA), COCCA-Conspiracy, forgery, theft, and criminal impersonation. Sarabia-Martinez is expected to also be ordered to pay restitution of nearly $1million. Mr. Sarabia-Martinez was the mastermind of a fraudulent scheme that stole millions of dollars from his victims, said Attorney General Coffman. This lengthy sentence will keep him off the streets and prevent him from harming any other innocent people. Sarabia-Martinez, along with his fellow co-conspirators used their status as professionals in the real estate industry to execute a long-term diverse fraud for profit scheme. The scheme primarily centered on mortgage fraud including the manipulation of multiple real estate transactions through the use of fraudulent statements, material omissions, acquiring false identification and notary commissions, as well using straw buyers‚ to buy and sell real estate properties that ultimately resulted in foreseeable foreclosures. When these straw buyers‚ properties were foreclosed, Sarabia-Martinez and his partners had already been able to fraudulently acquire money through fees, commissions, and by diverting the excess profit that was obtained from facilitating these fraudulent loans from the deceived lenders. The criminal activity took place in various jurisdictions, including the City and County of Denver, Adams County and Arapahoe County. The investigation and successful prosecution of this case resulted from collaboration between several state and federal agencies including the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General. The exceptional collaboration between our state and federal partners made a tremendous difference in this case by helping to bring some justice to those impacted by this pervasive crime and preventing additional victims from being targeted by Mr. Sarabia-Martinez in the future said CBI Director Mike Rankin. In addition to Sarabia-Martinez, five other co-conspirators have pled guilty to various charges related to the scheme, including his then wife, mother, father and brothers. Sarabia-Martinez was previously convicted of felony offenses related to domestic violence, for which he also received a 24-year sentence. Both 24-year sentences will run consecutively, for a total of 48 years in prison.,

03/07/2016, On February 29, 2016, Michael David Hopkins, age 50, of Westminster was arrested on charges of forgery, impersonating a public servant, gathering identity information by deception and criminal possession of a forged instrument. Hopkins has allegedly been soliciting individuals who were unable to lawfully obtain a driver license due to being under restraint, lack of qualifications or inability to demonstrate lawful presence in the U.S. for the past two years. Hopkins would allegedly impersonate a DMV employee while meeting with individuals and provide them with counterfeit temporary driver licenses in exchange for money. The Colorado DMV investigations unit is urging any individuals who may have been contacted by or used the services of this individual to contact the DMV hotline at 1-855-778-2368 This case is being investigated by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Motor Vehicle Investigations Unit and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Colorado Department of Revenue records show that Hopkins has never been employed with the Colorado DMV. This investigation is not related to other current DMV investigations. As this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to provide further information.

09/18/2015‚ The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Identity Theft/Fraud Unit has seen a surge of imposter Internal Revenue Service (IRS) calls in recent weeks and offers tips related to this far-reaching scam. The scam works when the caller states the IRS is filing a lawsuit against the person for unpaid taxes, and that the person will be arrested if the taxes are not paid immediately. The caller demands the person wire the money or pay via pre-paid debit/credit cards. What you need to know: Most importantly: this is SCAM! The IRS will not make threatening phone calls about alleged owed taxes and demand that a person use a pre-paid debit/credit card to settle a debt. If you receive a call, simply hang up the phone. DO NOT engage in a conversation with the person claiming to represent the IRS or US Treasury. DO NOT return a call if a person leaves you a message. The goal is to ignore the calls completely. Visit the IRS website and report these instances or to learn more about this scam: "http://www.irs.gov/uac/Report-Phishing" target="_blank">http://www.irs.gov/uac/Report-Phishing

10/4/2014, The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Identity Theft/Fraud Unit has joined the social media conversation by launching a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/CBI.IDTheft https://www.facebook.com/CBI.IDTheft to share important information and to help reduce the impact of identity theft and fraud.
Those who &lsquo,like&rsquo, the CBI Identity Theft page will obtain details about current identity theft scams and other fraud-related information prevalent in Colorado and across the nation.

&ldquo,Our goal is to share timely and meaningful awareness information to minimize the impact of identity theft and fraud,&rdquo, said Agent in Charge Ralph Gagliardi who oversees the CBI Identity Theft/Fraud Unit. &ldquo,We want friends, families and neighbors to relay critical awareness information, whether through the Facebook page or daily conversation, to help reduce the impact identity theft.&rdquo,

Have you been impacted by identity theft or fraud? The CBI offers a toll free hotline (1-855-443-3489) that is staffed 24/7 to help victims take the critical first steps in recovering from these prolific crimes.

&ldquo,Whether it&rsquo,s through social media, or engaging the community through presentations or participation in community events, the CBI is committed to not only helping victims impacted by identity and fraud, but also working to prevent victimization,&rdquo, said CBI Director Ron Sloan.,