Customer data stolen from hotel
Posted on August 24, 2007
Filed Under Fraud | Leave a Comment
Guests of a Best Western Hotel in Phoenix could be victims of identity theft and four Southwest Valley residents are connected to the case, Attorney General Terry Goddard said Wednesday.
The general manager of the Best Western Hotel & Suites Phoenix Northern, 1615 E. Northern Ave., sent a letter to about 164 customers informing them that five months ago an on-site storage area containing personal guest information was broken into and information dated between 2002 and 2006 was stolen.
The notification was prompted by this week’s sentencing hearing of a defendant who was twice arrested in the past year with records stolen from this hotel.
Jaime Jimenez Hernandez, 31, of Tolleson was sentenced to 3½ years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud charges. This sentence will begin after he serves 2½ years for an unrelated weapons charge. Three local women are also involved in this case:
• Delina Marie Mejia, 29, of Avondale, pleaded guilty to fraud and will be sentenced Sept. 27.
• Denise Ortega, 33, and Sarah Lee Golladay Tercero, 40, both of Tolleson, are pending trial in October on similar charges.
According to court documents, Hernandez was arrested for using credit card information to purchase goods and services. The credit card numbers were part of the information stolen from the Best Western Hotel.
Consumers who may be affected by this security breach should consider ordering a credit report to check for any suspicious activity.
Arizona consumers can get a free annual credit report from all three credit reporting agencies and may want to order the three reports over several months to follow their credit records.
Visit the Identity Theft Page on the Arizona Attorney General’s Office Web site at www.azag.gov.
For information about obtain a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Lawson is prosecuting these cases.
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