Man stole mail to get personal information in $1.8M scheme in CA, feds say
A man accused of stealing at least $1.8 million in a mail and identity theft scheme targeting residents of a wealthy California community is headed to prison, officials said.
Oren David Sela, from North Hills, was sentenced to about five years behind bars after pleading guilty to one count each of aggravated identity theft and bank fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said in an April 22 news release.
The 36-year-old also must pay more than $1.8 million in restitution, prosecutors said.
McClatchy News reached out to his attorney April 23 and was awaiting a response.
Sela targeted people, including the elderly, in and around Beverly Hills from 2021 to 2023, prosecutors said.
He 'stole mail to obtain debit cards, bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, and other personal identifiable information,' and used that information 'to gain access to their online bank and financial accounts,' prosecutors said. He sometimes got control of victims' phone numbers through SIM-swapping to get around two-factor authentication, according to prosecutors.
Sela had debit or credit cards from victims' accounts issued to him and opened fraudulent accounts in their names, prosecutors said.
In all, he stole at least $1.81 million, according to prosecutors.
'He defrauded numerous banks and at least 62 individual victims, including various elderly victims,' prosecutors said, adding that he often used the money to buy 'expensive goods for himself, including, for example, a nearly $17,000 watch.'
In a court filing, Sela's attorney wrote that Sela struggled with addiction, leading to 'the series of misdeeds that ended with the indictment filed in this case.'
But, he's now 'been sober for the longest period he has been in his adult life, and has gained insight and clarity that he lacked when his primary motivation was to satisfy the needs posed by his addiction,' the filing said.
North Hills is about a 26-mile drive northwest from downtown Los Angeles.
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