Woodbury man accused of stealing co-worker's identity

Washington County prosecutors allege a Woodbury man convicted last year of identity theft was back at it again this year.

Andrew Sinaberg, 45, was charged May 11 with one count of felony identity theft. Sinaberg pleaded guilty last year in a case where he was accused of using his ex-wife’s identity to collect unemployment benefit payments. He received a five-year stay of adjudication in that case, with the stipulation that a judge could execute a 13-month prison sentence if Sinaberg violated terms of his probation, which required him to remain law abiding.

The new charges allege Sinaberg stole a co-worker’s identity to open a credit card account. Both Sinaberg and the alleged victim worked at Cherry Berry in Woodbury.

According to a criminal complaint, Woodbury police received a report April 21 that the alleged victim’s identity had been used to open a Capital One credit card without her consent.

Police learned that the address on file for the account was registered to a Spring Lane address in Woodbury. When officers went to that address, they encountered Sinaberg, who “spontaneously admitted to police that he had received mail from Capital One,” according to the complaint.

Police also spoke with a manager at Cherry Berry, who said Sinaberg lied on his job application by stating he was not a convicted felon. The manager also reported $600 in till shortages and that a file cabinet had been pried into. Both incidents occurred shortly after Sinaberg starting working there, the complaint states.

Police learned that a $2,000 creidt line had been opened over the Internet in the alleged victim’s name. The phone number associated with the account also registered to Sinaberg, according to the complaint.

In subsequent days, Sinaberg had also applied for credit cards through four other identities, the complaint states.

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