Reputed identity thief gets 10-year prison sentence

A reputed identity thief has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison after pleading guilty to purchasing items from local department stores with fraudulent bank cards.

Cristina Elizabeth Gonzalez, 30, of Fontana, pleaded guilty to four felony counts Friday in West Valley Superior Court after entering into a plea bargain with prosecutors.

Gonzalez was accused of obtaining bank cards using the stolen identities of two people, then using the cards to purchase about $1,000 in goods from Macy's and Sears stores in Rancho Cucamonga and Corona.

Gonzalez and an alleged accomplice were arrested May 28 at a Macy's store in Rancho Cucamonga as Gonzalez was in the process of purchasing merchandise using the fraudulent cards, according to police reports attached to her case file.

Gonzalez's alleged accomplice, 43-year-old Arthur Lance Perez of Riverside, was sentenced to 16 months in state prison in September after pleading guilty to a felony count of receiving stolen property.