Fort Collins man charged in $352,000 Northern…
Fort Collins man charged in $352,000 Northern Colorado fraud case sentenced to 9 years in prison
Lorenzo Castaneda pleaded guilty to theft ranging from $100,000 to $1 million, identity theft
By Austin Fleskes | afleskes@prairiemountainmedia.com |
PUBLISHED: December 3, 2021 at 11:42 a.m. | UPDATED: December 3, 2021 at 11:42 a.m.
The Fort Collins man arrested over the summer in a fraud case that brought in more than $350,000 has pleaded guilty to two charges against him and was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Lorenzo Castaneda, 33 of Fort Collins, was arrested in late May as a result of an investigation conducted in cooperation with the interagency Northern Colorado Economic Crime Task Force.
According to previous reporting, the "scheme" run by Castaneda brought in $352,000 by targeting two Northern Colorado restaurants and a California company that makes order and payment systems for restaurants.
The investigation found that the payment system company had been breached by someone in Northern Colorado who was processing fraudulent credit card sales through the order and payment system company's point-of-sale system.
By March, 275 transactions totaling just under $352,000 were processed through 19 different credit cards, according to a previous release on the investigation. These funds were then allegedly funneled to three separate bank accounts suspected of being controlled by Castaneda, police reported.
Castaneda, who faced several cases related to this incident, pleaded guilty Friday morning to one count of theft costing $100,000 to $1 million, a class 3 felony, and identity theft, a class 4 felony, in a plea agreement with the Larimer County District Attorney's office.
Sean Harrell, Castaneda's attorney, said the agreement with the DA had a sentencing range of nine years in the Department of Corrections. He asked that Judge Stephen Jouard accept the agreement including the sentencing range.
"He got greedy," Harrell said. "He made decisions that extended beyond what was necessary for his living."
Castaneda thanked everyone who worked with him going through the case and said the "unpleasant experience" will help him move forward through his prison time and onward.
Jouard accepted the agreement, saying he found it "reasonable and appropriate given the nature of the allegations as well as the pleas," and sentenced Castaneda to nine years in the Department of Corrections on both counts; the sentences will run concurrent with each other.
Austin Fleskes | Public safety reporter
Austin Fleskes joined the Reporter-Herald team in August 2020 as the newsroom's public safety reporter. Before coming to Loveland, he graduated from Colorado State University in May 2020 with two bachelor's degrees, one in journalism and media communications and one in history. Reach him at afleskes@prairiemountainmedia.com or on Twitter @Austinfleskes07.
afleskes@prairiemountainmedia.com
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