Bridgeport Man Sentenced In Million-Dollar Identity Theft Case: Feds

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A 60-year-old Bridgeport man was sentenced this week to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a multistate identity theft scheme, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery announced.

Elvis Perez, also known as "Pops," was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven. The scheme defrauded dozens of individuals and businesses out of more than $1 million, according to prosecutors.

Court documents and statements spelled out how Perez was involved in scheme, which was led by his son-in-law, Tyshon Walker, and his daughter and Walker’s spouse, Stephanie Perez.

Beginning in September 2020, Walker obtained personal information stolen from residents of Connecticut and other states and used it to apply for vehicle loans at dealerships in Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Rhode Island for motorcycles, an all-terrain vehicle, and other performance vehicles, according to prosecutors.

Once the loan was approved by the dealership using the victim’s stolen identity information, Walker would send “runners,” including Elvis Perez, to pick up the vehicle utilizing a fictitious driver’s license that included the identity theft victim’s information and a photograph of the runner. The vehicle was then transported back to Connecticut for resale on Facebook Marketplace.

Perez, sometimes alone and sometimes with an accomplice, travelled to at least four different car dealerships and stole at least four different vehicles as part of this scheme, according to prosecutors. He was paid by Walker for his work acquiring and transporting each vehicle.

Prosecutors said Perez’s criminal history includes 12 felony convictions.

Perez has been detained since his arrest in July 2023. He pleaded guilty in June 2024 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Walker and Stephanie Perez have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force, the Bridgeport Police Department, the Hopkinton (R.I.) Police Department, the Westtown – East Goshen Regional (Pa.) Police Department, and the Washington Township (N.J.) Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren C. Clark and Heather M. Cherry.