Two suspects were arrested on grand theft charges following a search in Irvine.
The suspects are Christian Margel, 22, of Anaheim, and Teresa Margel, 20, of Fullerton, according to the Irvine Police Department.
Authorities were investigating a “sophisticated global fraud scheme in which criminals steal Electric Benefit Transfers (EBT) payments shortly after they are deposited into victims’ accounts,” authorities said.
On December 2nd, detectives were checking local banks when they saw “suspicious people involved in fraud” at the bank near Culver and Irvine Center Drives.
The suspects drove the car and when the police tried to pull them over, they refused, leading the police to follow them.
After a short chase, they stopped the car near Culver Drive and Irvine Boulevard where a woman was arrested. The suspect jumped out of the car and fled the scene, police said.
4 suspected of stealing more than $316,000 in check fraud scheme: police
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Christian Margel, 22, of Anaheim was arrested after police found him hiding in a dumpster following a search warrant in Irvine on Dec. 2, 2024. (Irvine Police Department)
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Teresa Margel, 20, of Fullerton, was arrested following a search in Irvine on December 2, 2024. (Irvine Police Department)
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Two suspects, Christian Margel, 22, of Anaheim, and Teresa Margel, 20, of Fullerton, were arrested following a search in Irvine on December 2, 2024. (Irvine Police Department)
While searching nearby, the police found the man hiding in a garbage dump.
The two were arrested on charges of grand larceny, felony eluding, and resisting arrest and were taken to the Orange County Jail.
Detectives did not release any further information on whether the two were involved in a crime ring.
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