SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.  – A Fontana man has been charged with five felony counts of identity theft.

During the course of an ongoing workers’ compensation fraud investigation, investigators from the District Attorney’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fraud Unit discovered that Francisco Barajas, 31, had utilized the personal information of an adult and a small child to obtain employment at a local business in Fontana.

On Jan. 8, Barajas was taken into custody at his place of employment in Fontana. If convicted as charged, he faces three years and eight months in County Prison. Barajas is also being held on a No-Bail, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, INS hold.

“These cases are important because anything an identity thief does with the victims’ personal information can impact the victims for the rest of their lives,” said Deputy District Attorney Michael Chiriatti, who is assigned to the case. “For example, should an audit ever be conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, the time and expense incurred by this victim or the victim’s family to straighten out what the defendant has done could be exorbitant.”