ππ’π π‘π-ππππ« ππ«π’π¬π¨π§ πππ§πππ§ππ πππ§πππ ππ¨π°π§ π’π§ πππ£π¨π« ππππ§ππ’ππ² ππ‘πππ πππ¬π
On October 20, 2025, Raquel Viviani Aranda, also known as Raquel Cruz, was sentenced by Judge Mark Ralphs to serve eight years in state prison and ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution to the victim. Aranda pleaded no contest to ten felony counts of identity theft and admitted to three aggravating factors as well as a white-collar crime enhancement (Penal Code 186.11), which requires a state prison sentence when the fraud involves multiple related felonies and losses exceeding $100,000. At the time of the plea, Aranda had been in custody for over a year and agreed to waive the time already served.
The case stemmed from an investigation revealing that Aranda stole the personal identifying information (PII) of an El Dorado County businessman and used his credit card information to fund a variety of purchases β including vehicles, motorcycles, hotel stays, meals, and even $75,000 in payments to a Sacramento law firm for criminal defense services. These payments were made while Aranda was already incarcerated in Sacramento County for a separate identity theft case.
Evidence also showed that Aranda created a fake business using another personβs identity to charge the victimβs credit card, disguising herself as the end recipient of the stolen funds. She further used other stolen identities to rent housing, buy vehicles, and conceal her whereabouts. When she was arrested, Aranda was found with fraudulent U.S. passport cards, multiple driverβs licenses, and numerous credit cards belonging to others.
During her interview with investigators, Aranda admitted to using an online service that scraped the internet for personal information β such as birthdates, addresses, and motherβs maiden names β which she combined with stolen credit card numbers obtained through large-scale data breaches. She then created physical and virtual cards to make fraudulent purchases or process payments through merchant accounts tied to her shell company.
Detective G. Clark of the El Dorado County Sheriffβs Office led the investigation. Detective Clark authored and served multiple search warrants on banks, internet providers, and phone carriers, conducted surveillance, and ultimately located and arrested Aranda in September 2024 after a year-long search. His persistence, along with the victimβs active cooperation, was critical to the successful outcome of the case.
This case was prosecuted by the Special Prosecutions Unit of the El Dorado County District Attorneyβs Office, which handles complex financial crimes including securities, welfare, real estate, insurance, and identity theft fraud.