MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office’s economic crimes detectives have zeroed in on a 37-year-old woman accused of exploiting stolen identities and defrauding banks.
Deputies arrested Chloe Castellanos on Tuesday at a townhouse in the Princeton neighborhood, and she appeared in Miami-Dade court on Wednesday facing nine charges.
“Her actions are not isolated to just this case,” a detective wrote in two reports about her alleged crimes on May 22 and June 2, also adding that she “has repeatedly engaged in various schemes to defraud multiple banks” and “additional charges will be forthcoming.”
During their search on Tuesday, detectives reported finding that Castellanos had kept some of the data on stolen identities stored in her cell phone, arrest records show.
“She is involved in getting ... falsely impersonating the victims so that she can open bank accounts, have money deposited in there, and then steal the money,” Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer said during the hearing.
In the May 22 case, Castellanos opened an account with a stolen identity at a Regions Bank in Cutler Ridge and received an $18,000 wire transfer on May 29 from another fraudulent account in Wells Fargo, according to the deputies’ arrest report.
In the June 2 case, Castellanos got an advance from a victim’s home equity line of credit with Truist Bank and withdrew $8,000 in person from a teller at Truist’s North Biscayne branch, according to the deputies’ arrest report.
Castellanos faced two counts of third-degree grand theft, two counts of organized fraud, two counts of scheme to defraud a financial institution, and three counts of fraudulent use of identity information. Her bond was $20,000.
“You have to show the money used to post your bond is from a legitimate source of funds,” Glazer told Castellanos in court.
Inmate records show Castellanos was at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Wednesday afternoon.
Detectives asked anyone with information about this or other cases to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 to remain anonymous.
How to report identity theft
The Federal Trade Commission online at IdentityTheft.gov or call 1-877-438-4338
Ask the three major credit reporting agencies to place fraud alerts and a credit freeze on your accounts.
Contact the fraud department at credit card issuer, bank, and other places where you have accounts
How to protect yourself from identity theft
- Do not answer phone calls, texts, social media messages, or e-mails from numbers or people you do not know.
- Do not share personal information like your bank account number, Social Security number, or date of birth.
- Collect your mail every day, and place a hold on your mail when you will be on vacation or away from your home.
- Review credit card and bank account statements. Watch for and report unauthorized or suspicious transactions.
- Understand how ATM skimming works and how to protect yourself.
- Learn when it is safe to use a public Wi-Fi network.
- Store personal information, including your Social Security card, in a safe place. Do not carry it in your wallet.
Local 10 News Assignment Editor Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report.
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