The Monroeville location of Avis Car Rental lost more than $500,000 because of an identity theft scheme that involved a Brentwood man and a Youngwood woman, according to federal prosecutors.
Cheron Tucker, 28, pleaded guilty in federal court last week to aggravated identity theft along with unauthorized access device fraud and weapons charges stemming from a scheme to fraudulently rent cars in Monroeville, according to prosecutors.
Tucker admitted to Judge Nora Barry Fischer that in 2022 he took part in a scheme to obtain names, credit card numbers and other identification of people whose information he then used to rent vehicles from Avis Car Rental’s Monroeville office.
U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan said once Tucker obtained the vehicles, he rented them to other people, causing more than $500,000 in losses to the rental company through the scheme.
Earlier this year, Jackie L. Neubauer, 41, of Youngwood also pleaded guilty in federal court to aggravated identity theft and access device fraud, after prosecutors say she used the stolen credit card numbers to rent out cars in exchange for heroin and cash.
Neubauer was originally scheduled for sentencing in late July 31. Her case is ongoing.
Brentwood Police were investigating one of the fraudulently rented vehicles, and conducted a search of a home used by Tucker. There, they found documents and other evidence associated with the scheme, Olshan said.
Tucker was already on supervised federal release after being sentenced to three years in prison in 2020 for an identity theft scheme involving fraudulent hotel room booking and car rentals.
At the Brentwood residence, police found two loaded guns including one with an obliterated serial number, which led to the current weapons charge.
Judge Fischer scheduled sentencing for Jan. 13. Tucker faces a minimum of two years, and up to 32 years, in prison.
This story was updated Sept. 30 to clarify Tucker’s residence.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.