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Woman charged with multiple counts of fraud, forgery

The Nueces County District Attorney's Office said the case should be a wake-up call to all of us.

Corpus Christi (KIII News) — A 47-year-old woman is now facing numerous charges of fraud and forgery in a case that involves a lot of victims, including even a former Corpus Christi police officer.

The Nueces County District Attorney's Office said the case should be a wake-up call to all of us.

47-year-old Lorie Pena has been the target of a months-long investigation for allegedly using other people's personal information to commit fraud.

"These are the kinds of cases that affect all walks of life, and the kinds of cases that really concern us in this information age," First Assistant District Attorney Matt Manning said.

Pena's 10-count indictment, which includes everything from third-degree forgery and defrauding the elderly to identity theft, is almost a year old; but Pena was allowed bond and released soon after her arrest. When she failed to appear for a hearing earlier this month, a warrant for her arrest was issued.

Pena was found by Nueces County Sheriff's deputies hiding inside a closet of a home.

According to the 10-count indictment, Pena allegedly used stolen information from as many as half a dozen individuals. She used one of their identities to get a Texas driver's license.

Pena also allegedly ripped off wage and tax statements dating back to 1986 and 1989 belonging to a former Corpus Christi Police Department officer.

Using a family member's name, Pena allegedly obtained checks from the company CMC Recycling on Agnes. She then changed the amounts on the checks and cashed them using the fraudulent names and fake Texas driver's license.

Manning said cases such as this are a call to arms.

"We all have so much information that we use to live our everyday lives, whether it be financial information or personal information regarding our medical histories or other things that are really important to us," Manning said. "So accordingly we want to make sure that we take a strong stance in these cases and let people know that we absolutely will not turn a blind eye to these kinds of cases."

The severity of the multi-count indictment could net Pena some serious prison time, from five years for the state jail felony to 99 years for the first-degree felonies.

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