Southern California man stole over $1.8 million through mail and identity theft scheme
A Southern California man was sentenced to prison for stealing over $1.8 million through mail theft, identity theft and bank fraud.
Oren David Sela, 36, of North Hills, typically targeted residents in and around Beverly Hills by stealing mail and packages from their homes and using their personal information to open fraudulent bank accounts, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
From November 2021 to October 2023, Sela would obtain debit cards, bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, and other personal information through stolen mail.
He used the victims' information to gain access to their online bank and financial accounts.
At times, he utilized SIM-swapping, which involves illegally obtaining a victim's phone number by transferring it to a new SIM card or porting the victim's phone number to gain temporary control over to defeat two-factor authentication protocols on their accounts, federal officials explained.
Sela then opened additional accounts in the victims' names to transfer money into intermediary accounts that he controlled.
'He withdrew money from those accounts or used them to make purchases or transfers,' court documents said. 'He also caused debit or credit cards linked to victim accounts to be issued to him, so he could spend directly from those cards.'
Through this method, Sela defrauded banks, made hundreds of fraudulent withdrawals and transfers, and successfully stole at least $1,818,369 from at least 62 victims.
He often spent the stolen funds on expensive goods, including a nearly $17,000 watch, prosecutors said.
Sela had been previously arrested for similar crimes. In 2022, he was arrested in Beverly Hills and found with nearly $25,000 in cash, various expensive items of jewelry, and numerous fraudulent debit and credit cards belonging to four elderly victims.
Following his released, during two separate searches of his properties in 2022 and 2023, law enforcement found more than $70,000 in cash, many pieces of expensive jewelry, stolen mail, extensive stolen personal information, identification cards, debit and credit cards, banking information and more, all belonging to victims, officials said.
Sela has been in federal custody since October 2023. In October 2024, he pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
On April 22, he was sentenced to 61 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1,818,369 in restitution.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Beverly Hills Police Department.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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