Jackson, MS-An illegal immigrant who has been residing in Mississippi for the past five years has been arrested today on three counts of identity theft, announced Attorney General Jim Hood.

Tixtha Martinez, age 35, 654 Morris Tullos Road, Morton, MS, was taken into custody this morning by Investigators with the Identity Theft Unit of the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General?s Office.  She is charged with opening loans at the Central Mississippi Federal Credit Union using a stolen identity. 

The victims, who wished only to be identified as Mr. & Mrs. Pardo of Illinois, contacted the Mississippi Attorney General?s Office on Monday, July 14, 2008, to report the crime.  Here is a summary of their experience in the words of Mr. Pardo:

?This all started in 2005 for us.  We were receiving notices from the IRS that my wife had been working in Mississippi and not filing income tax reports and that we owed them money.  We looked into it and found that someone else was working with my wife?s social security number.  More recently, we were going to refinance our home and the information from the Mississippi Credit Union showed up in our credit report.  They told us we had an outstanding loan that we had to repay before we could refinance.  We knew we did not.  We went through all the local resources we had and nothing was done about it until we reported it to the Mississippi Attorney General?s Office.  Investigators Doug Tyrone and Jake Windham took action right away.  I was so surprised and thankful.  Without their assistance and quick action, this could and would have not been possible.  They handled a situation that in four years had been neglected by local (Illinois) authorities.  They took the bull by the horn and without hesitation opened and closed the case in 48 hours.  They are simply outstanding and I am impressed by them.  I also want to thank Jim Hood?s office for having such a good team of hard workers and professional officers.?

?We truly do have some outstanding investigators in our office and I am proud when a victim recognizes them by name, ? said Attorney General Jim Hood.

The Attorney General?s Office would like to thank Scott County Sheriff Mike Lee and his department for their assistance in this case.  Martinez was taken to the Scott County Jail.  Scott County Justice Court Judge Wilbur McCurdy set bond at $75,000 ($25,000 each count).
This is the second arrest of an illegal immigrant for identity theft by the Attorney General?s Office this month.

As with all cases, the charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.