Identity theft taken to a whole new level

It may be a buyer’s market, but Rene Gutierrez says he got more than he bargained for at a Cape realty company.

He gave the Realtor detailed personal identification information to check his credit. Gutierrez never did buy a home, but within a month he started getting phone bills and notices for past due payments for Azul Marketing Incorporated – a business he says he doesn’t own but is in his name.

“I’m just angry at him for doing this,” said Gutierrez.

Cape police say they used phone records to trace the identity theft back to a man who did maintenance work for Maks Realty – the place where Gutierrez disclosed all his personal information.

The report states a man named Yunior Lorenzo stole Gutierrez’s identity and opened a $5,000 line of credit and set up the corporation – Azul Marketing.

NBC2’s Kate Eckman went to Maks Realty to get some answers but the company’s president told us Lorenzo doesn’t work there.

However, we did meet employees who say they know who Lorenzo is. They say he’s done some maintenance work there, but doesn’t have access the personal information of any client.

But Lorenzo’s wife is a Realtor there and she does have that type of access.

We went to the Lorenzos’ Cape Coral home. They weren’t home, but we were able to talk to his wife on the phone.

She says Lorenzo recently moved to Miami and that he would never steal someone’s identity and open a corporation under a false name.

But police records not only list Lorenzo as the identity thief, but they also say he threatened to kill Gutierrez and his family.

“This guy has been calling me, threatening my life and my family. I want to press charges,” said Gutierrez.

Police are still investigating the case. Officials with Maks Realty say they keep all of their clients’ personal information secure and they say what happened to the alleged victim should never happen to anybody

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