Federal Prison for ID Thief Who Raided Beverly Hills Mailboxes for Millions
A North Hills man was sentenced Monday to more than five years in federal prison for orchestrating a wide-reaching identity theft scheme that targeted dozens of victims in Beverly Hills, including elderly residents, by stealing mail and exploiting personal information to siphon more than $1.8 million from their bank accounts.
Oren David Sela, 36, received a 61-month prison sentence from U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee, who also ordered him to pay $1,818,369 in restitution to his victims. Sela pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. He has been held in federal custody since his arrest in October 2023.
The Beverly Hills Police Department and the Secret Service investigated the case.
Federal prosecutors say Sela operated the fraud between November 2021 and October 2023, stealing mail and packages from homes in and around Beverly Hills to obtain sensitive personal and financial information. He used this data, including Social Security numbers, bank account credentials, and debit cards, to access victims’ online financial accounts. To bypass two-factor authentication security, he also used “SIM-swapping,” a technique that allowed him to control victims’ phone numbers and intercept verification codes.
Once he gained access, Sela created fraudulent intermediary accounts in the names of his victims, transferring money from their original accounts and using it to fund purchases and cash withdrawals. In some cases, he had debit or credit cards issued in the victims’ names, which he used for direct spending.
In total, prosecutors said Sela attempted to steal nearly $2.6 million and successfully stole over $1.8 million from more than 60 individuals and numerous financial institutions. He reportedly used the stolen funds to purchase luxury goods, including a watch valued at nearly $17,000.
During a 2022 arrest in Beverly Hills, Sela was found in possession of nearly $25,000 in cash, high-end jewelry, and fraudulent debit and credit cards linked to four elderly victims. Although he was released at the time, his criminal conduct continued. Federal agents later executed search warrants at his properties in 2022 and 2023, seizing more than $70,000 in cash, stolen mail, luxury goods, and financial documents belonging to dozens of victims.
