MIAMI – A Miami man previously arrested on human trafficking charges is now facing another felony charge, this time, police say, for stealing the identity of a woman he tried to recruit.
Ruben Gonzalez, 41, has been jailed in Miami-Dade County since May 5, 2022.
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Authorities said a search warrant revealed that he had six different iPhones; on those cellphones were multiple photos of driver’s licenses and identification cards for various women, including the victim.
An arrest report states the victim told police she had met Gonzalez through a dating website. While on a date, Gonzalez “attempted to recruit the victim to become an escort for his company.”
Police said the victim recalled Gonzalez, who has previously identified himself online using the handle “handsome_and_wealthy_305,” taking a picture of her driver’s license during the date.
Later, she discovered through her credit report that someone tried to open a credit card in her name, police said; she reported the fraud to her credit card company and the account was eventually closed.
The arrest report states that the woman’s credit report contained three addresses: the first was her own, but the other two were connected to Gonzalez.
Authorities said Gonzalez opened a PayPal account in the victim’s name, through which he sent and received more than $50,000 from March 5, 2022 through Jan. 16, 2024.
Investigators added an identity theft charge to his host of criminal counts on Monday. Gonzalez remained in the Metro West Detention Center as of Tuesday afternoon.