Florida man gets four years in identity theft

A Hollywood, Fla., man was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to identity theft in Lake County Circuit Court.

Daniel Rivera, 31, will serve the sentence at the same time he completes a five-year sentence for a similar crime in Florida.

Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Stanton said Rivera used the Social Security number of an 84-year-old Lincolnshire man to obtain a credit card in October 2006.

Rivera ran up $2,100 in charges on the card before he was caught using it in November 2008 and was arrested.

In addition to the Florida identity theft conviction Rivera is serving a sentence for, he has a 2004 conviction for theft in that state, Stanton said.

Rivera could have been sentenced to up to seven years in prison if convicted of the Lake County charge after a trial.