Gresham man arrested in Bend now facing federal ID theft charges

Indictment alleges dozens of Portland-area victims

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A Gresham man arrested last fall in Bend on charges he used a stolen credit card now faces a nine-count federal indictment, accused of stealing financial and ID documents from dozens of Portland-area residents.

Robert Loren Finanders, 39, was charged in an indictment unsealed Thursday with aggravated identity theft, counterfeit access device fraud, illegal possession of device-making equipment and felon in possession of a firearm.

Court documents alleged that for at least the past year, Finanders allegedly had stolen documents for about 100 people in order to steal money from them and area businesses.

Investigators say Finanders spent tens of thousands of dollars using stolen credit cards and other personal information. Some IDs apparently were stolen by breaking into cars to steal wallets and purses.

Portland police began investigating Finanders last September after an arrest turned up a fake Oregon driver's license in the name of an adult victim, but with Finanders' photo on it, federal prosecutors said.

Investigators learned that around the same time, Bend police arrested Finanders and a co-conspirator after received a report of someone ordering food at a restaurant with a stolen credit card.

Bend police searched their vehicle and found a passport, W-2s and a retail credit card matching the name of the person with the stolen driver's license.

While searching their hotel room, Bend officers recovered W-2s in the name of another victim and a victim profile notebook.

Police linked Finanders to more ID theft crimes in Portland, Gresham and Lake Oswego. A January raid on the home of Finanders and his co-conspirator turned up stolen profiles for more than 80 people, among other evidence, including three handguns, a dismantled AR-15, body armor and evidence of drug trafficking.

At the time of his arrest in January, police said they recovered from the residence and a public storage unit firearms, drugs, cash and enough suspected stolen property to fill three vans and a tow truck. They also seized a Cadillac Escalade and a Mercedes sedan.

Finanders was arrested again Wednesday by Portland police and made his first federal court appearance Thursday. His trial is set to begin June 2. The magistrate court took under advisement the issue of whether to detain Finanders pending trial, prosecutors said.