Two men charged with identity theft
Two men were charged with identity theft Tuesday after police discovered other people’s mail and personal information inside a car belonging to one of them, officials said.
One of the men — Jonathan Togiai, 36, of Los Angeles — was charged with one felony count of identity theft, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. He was convicted of the same charge in 2008.
The second man — Paul Lim, 31, of Glendale — was charged with four misdemeanor counts of identity theft and one felony count of possessing methamphetamine.
Five victims were identified as having had their personal information stolen, according to the criminal complaint.
Togiai and Lim were arrested at about 10 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of Motel Sakura on the 1500 block of East Colorado Street, where Togiai was staying, according to Glendale police reports.
Lim allowed police officers to search his BMW, where they found a small bag containing methamphetamine, according to police.
He denied knowledge of the substance, which he told police he hadn’t used since 2007, police said.
Officers also found a piece of paper containing several names, sets of driver’s license data and Social Security numbers inside Togiai’s wallet, according to police.
Togiai claimed he used the information for an online service that he ran, police said.
In the trunk of Lim’s car, police allegedly found a credit card skimmer, blank business checks, more pieces of paper containing Social Security and driver’s license numbers, account and banking information, and a folder containing mail belonging to Los Angeles residents.
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