Donna man accused of posing as salesman arrested for theft, fraud

Reucindo Trigueros Jr.

A Donna man was arrested after he attempted to take out four home improvement loans totaling $145,000 using a woman’s information he obtained after claiming to be a home security system salesman, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Reucindo Trigueros Jr., 34, is charged with fraud using stolen identifying information for home improvement loans.

According to the affidavit, on March 18, Weslaco police spoke with a woman who stated that she was contacted by a LifeLock employee to inform her that someone was attempting to take out home improvement loans through a company called GoodLeap Finance.

LifeLock is an identity theft protection service that monitors people’s personal information.

The Weslaco woman added that Trigueros showed up at her residence a month prior selling home security systems to which she agreed to and gave her information to Trigueros, including her social security number.

On March 16, Trigueros called her to say that a man was going to stop by her home the next day and instructed her to tell him that she knows a Donna woman, who was also one of Trigueros’ alleged victims, for a referral program that’s an incentive for him.

When the man arrived, he identified himself as a First Choice Solar employee and said he was there to verify that she was the one applying for the home improvement loan, according to the affidavit.

That’s when she decided to press charges.

On April 1, a detective from the Weslaco Police Department met with the Weslaco woman who stated that the First Choice Solar employee requested a face-to-face meeting to finalize the home improvement loan because she was a cosigner for another woman in Donna.

The Weslaco woman called GoodLeap and learned someone attempted to use identification information to take out a total of four loans, two for $55,000, one for $25,000 and another for $10,000.

She was able to put a stop to the loans and also came in contact with a contractor who was working on a project in Donna, but stopped when he learned that the funds wouldn’t be provided.

On Aug. 5, police made contact with the Donna woman who informed her that a man came to her home stating she knew her relatives and offered to install solar panels which she denied, but then offered to repair her roof and install mini split air conditioners, the affidavit said.

She agreed to the second offer and to take out a loan of $55,000 to pay for the job.

The woman added that she completed her entire loan application on his computer, stating that she remembered the man adding another woman’s last name as her co-signer.

According to the document, she said that she didn’t know the other lady but went along with it since the man said that was the process he had to follow.

A week after the loan process, another man and his crew arrived and began demolishing her roof, but stopped showing up two days into the project.

Police presented a photo array to both women and both identified the man who took their information as Trigueros.

This wasn’t the only case Trigueros was charged in.

Another investigation revealed that Trigueros allegedly stole a total of $800 from another woman in Weslaco in December after cold approaching her about purchasing home security cameras and asked for $200 for the installation, according to the affidavit.

She used the banking application Zelle to send him the initial $200, but sent him another $400 the next day after she asked him to look into repairing a roof of a home her relatives lived at.

That same day, Dec. 19, 2023 Trigueros called her to ask to borrow another $200 and she did so because he convinced her that he didn’t have money to buy his kids food.

“Trigueros never went to fix the roof and Trigueros never went to install cameras,” the affidavit said.

The woman then took to social media to find Trigueros and found his mugshot on the Hidalgo County jail website and contacted police in order to pursue charges.

Trigueros was arrested last Tuesday on $25,000 in bonds, but posted bail two days later.

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