A Tempe man is accused of stealing a Florida man's identity after he was caught trying to purchase a car at a local dealership.
According to court documents, Jose Puga-Rodriguez visited Riverview Nissan in Mesa on Dec. 16 and spoke to a salesman about buying a vehicle.
Employees ran a credit check after Puga-Rodriguez identified himself as Orlando Valle and were notified of a fraud alert under Valle's name.
A sales manager reached out to Valle, who confirmed he was at his home in Florida and had recently been dealing with fraudulent activity on his accounts.
Police were called to the dealership and arrested Puga-Rodriguez, who admitted to stealing Valle's identity.
He is now facing identity theft and forgery charges.
