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A 65-year-old Santa Ana woman, Mindy Lee Stovall, has been formally charged with grand theft and additional offenses following an extensive investigation by the Murrieta Police Department. The charges relate to her involvement in a sophisticated identity theft and forgery operation that spanned Riverside County and beyond, resulting in the theft of tens of thousands of dollars.
Stovall was apprehended on Wednesday and faces two counts of grand theft, four counts of forgery, four counts of check fraud, and one count of possession of controlled substances. Additionally, she faces a sentence-enhancing allegation for committing a white-collar crime. Currently held at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, Stovall’s bail is set at $30,000, with her initial court appearance scheduled for Friday afternoon at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
The investigation, led by Murrieta Police Lieutenant Brendan Carney, revealed that Stovall executed a series of thefts at local retail outlets in December and early January. Utilizing stolen identities and forged checks, she fraudulently acquired thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise. Further investigation linked Stovall to similar fraudulent activities across the state, including a series of crimes in Orange County. The total value of her fraudulent purchases is estimated to exceed $70,000.