The Irvine Police Department investigated a series of cigarette purchases made with stolen credit card information. Their investigation led them to Haghighi who had an out-standing warrant as a parolee at large, and Paul Farraji, his roommate. At their home, Irvine Police found a credit card information skimmer, numerous blank credit cards, identification cards and false social security cards, and numerous items of counterfeit identification. Also found at the residence was a laptop computer, printers, a scanner, a copier, and a laminating machine to make fake ID’s. The police found over 230 blank credit cards neatly packaged together at an off-site storage unit. Each of these blank cards had been encoded with account and identity information from legitimate credit card accounts belonging to other people. Many of the cards had handwritten notations with further information to facilitate their fraudulent use.

The items collected and subsequent investigation revealed that Haghighi and Faraji had stolen the credit card information from patrons of the Chevron gas stations where they worked in Mission Viejo and San Juan Capistrano.

Also found at the residence were 16 counterfeit California Drivers Licenses with matching counterfeit Social Security cards. Each card was in a fictitious Middle Eastern name and bore the identical photo of the Haghighi.

The jury found Haghighi guilty on 51 felony counts of grand theft, identity theft, unlawful  possession of credit card information, and possession of counterfeit driver’s licenses. He was sentenced to 14 years in state prison.

Security officials for the financial institutions involved estimated that the recovery of the more then 230 fraudulent cards in the case saved institutions and consumers at least $500,000 in potential future fraudulent losses.