Santa Rosa woman arrested in identity theft, elder abuse

Mar. 31—A Santa Rosa woman was arrested Thursday suspected of stealing the identities of multiple elderly people, including residents of a care facility where she worked, according to police.

In one case, the suspect, 32-year-old Santa Rosa resident Imelda Ruby Reyes-Medina, is alleged to have made almost $20,000 in unauthorized charges using the accounts of an 82-year-old man who lived at a local care home, police said.

Reyes-Medina was arrested following a monthslong investigation on suspicion of identity theft, theft by use of a credit card and financial elder abuse as well as committing a felony while on bail, the Santa Rosa police said in a news release.

The investigation began in November 2023 when a representative for the Santa Rosa care facility resident noticed several unauthorized online transactions estimated to be over $15,000 from the man's bank account.

"Based on the victim's physical state, it would have been impossible for him to conduct the transactions himself," police said in the release.

The police department's Property Crimes Investigations Team took over the case earlier this year, serving a number of investigative search warrants on credit card companies, online businesses and electronic service providers. They eventually identified Reyes-Medina using shipping and contact information linked to many of the purchases.

During a search of two residences associated with Reyes-Medina on Mohawk Street and Bellevue Road, police found jewelry, electronics, baby accessories, furniture and other items believed to have been purchased using the man's credit card, police said.

They also found the personal information and credit cards for two other people living at a different residential care facility in Santa Rosa where Reyes-Medina worked, leading to an additional case being opened.

Reyes-Medina did not work at the facility where the 82-year-old man resides. Police are still investigating how she got his financial information.

At the time of Reyes-Medina's arrest, she was on bail from a prior investigation, also involving identity theft from an elderly and care-dependent person in Sebastopol.

Reyes-Medina was booked into Sonoma County jail, and both investigations are ongoing.

You can reach "In Your Corner" Columnist Marisa Endicott at 707-521-5470 or marisa.endicott@pressdemocrat.com. On X (formerly Twitter) @InYourCornerTPD and Facebook @InYourCornerTPD.

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