A Vernal man has been arrested on multiple counts of credit card fraud, forgery, identity theft, theft and burglary charges. 36-year-old Jonathan Betancourt was arrested on August 13th after an elderly woman and her daughter found an overwhelming amount of suspicious activity on the elderly victim’s bank account. According to the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation revealed that crimes began occurring over a year ago and included fraudulent checks and debits coming out of the victim’s bank account as well as stolen property dating back to 2015. Documentation also showed that Betancourt had opened or attempted to open multiple lines of credit under the woman’s name. “Betancourt was living in an apartment owned by the victim during the time the crimes occurred,” shares the Sheriff’s Office, “and had just moved out two days before he was arrested. At the time of Betancourt’s arrest on August 13th, he was found in possession of multiple items belonging to the victim.” Betancourt is in custody at the Uintah County Jail being held on $42,800 bail for multiple felony charges. The investigation is ongoing.
