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Police arrest, charge Valley man with identity theft and PPP fraud

The suspect allegedly admitted to authorities that he made just under $500,000 in fraudulent loans.

MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. — A man in Maricopa County was arrested and is being charged with forgery and fraudulent schemes after stealing people's identities and applying for loans in their names, county court paperwork shows.

The man, identified as 21-year-old Kolby Benston, stole the identities of four victims and applied for loans from the Small Business Association (SBA) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans with fake businesses using their information.

Benston sent multiple messages on Facebook messenger about how he takes the identities of anyone "dumb enough" to give them to him, according to court documents. Benston's Snapchat account also had the identities of around 100 people from multiple states.

Identity information reportedly included driver's licenses, social security cards, addresses and bank information.

Authorities arrested Benston on Tuesday, where he allegedly admitted to authorities that he made just under $500,000 in fraudulent loans.

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