Credit card scam took more than 20 victims for $60K, feds say. Merced man going to prison

A Merced man has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison in connection to a credit card fraud case, federal prosecutors said.

U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced Monday that Ruben Chavez III, 37, has been sentenced to three years and nine months in prison for identify theft and related credit card fraud.

Authorities said court documents show that between April 2021 and March 2022, Chavez either used or attempted to use credit cards of more than 20 victims to make over $60,000 in purchases. Chavez also created fake identification cards in the victims’ names and changed their mailing addresses to his own, according to authorities.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Barton prosecuted the case which was the product of a U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigation.