2 accused of using stolen IDs to buy art in SLT

Two South Lake Tahoe men are accused of stealing the identities of five people in order to illegally purchase art.

Chad Galvan, 31, and Marcus Gamez, 31, were arrested last week on burglary and identity theft related charges.

“On Feb. 25, they went to the Marcus Ashley Gallery in South Lake Tahoe. While there they attempted to purchase a piece of art using a credit line they had opened in a victim’s identity. They also went to the gallery several days prior and successfully purchased artwork with stolen identities,” Detective Doug Sentell told Lake Tahoe News.

They used information from the identities to create several fraudulent Pennsylvania driver’s licenses that contained the victims’ names, home addresses, and dates of birth, according to Sentell. Authorities don’t know how the identities were stolen.

Businesses, including hotels, believing the men may have been at their establishment are asked to call Sentell at 530.542.6138.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report