Uber driver in U.S. illegally charged with 4 California rapes

[Brian4Liberty]

Uber driver in U.S. illegally charged with 4 California rapes

LOS ANGELES -- A Mexican man living in the U.S. illegally used his job as an Uber driver to target intoxicated young women and was charged Monday with raping, assaulting and robbing four victims, California prosecutors said.

Alfonso Alarcon-Nunez drove women to their homes, assaulted them and stole property including cellphones, computers and jewelry, officials said. He collected his fare payments through the smartphone app Venmo to disguise his identity and his Uber records.

DNA evidence helped lead detectives to Alarcon-Nunez, who was arrested at his Santa Maria home last week, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow said at a news conference.

The alleged crimes occurred over four weeks starting in mid-December in San Luis Obispo, a city of about 45,000 that is home to California Polytechnic State University. Alarcon-Nunez's victims are between 19 and 22 and three were drunk at the time of the crimes, Dow said.

Alarcon-Nunez, 39, faces 10 criminal charges, including rape of an intoxicated victim and first-degree burglary. He pleaded not guilty to all charges at his arraignment and remained held in the San Luis Obispo County Jail with bail set at $1.47 million. His next court date was set for Jan. 29.
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Alarcon-Nunez has also gone by the name "Bruno Diaz" and his Venmo username was "Brush Bat," prosecutors said.

Officials said Alarcon-Nunez was not always driving for Uber when he picked up women. Sometimes, drivers in cars parked outside bars or restaurants "jump in front of the actual Uber driver and they will take someone unsuspecting to their home. And that's a way of putting someone at risk, and in this case that's exactly what's alleged to have happened," Dow said.
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Alarcon-Nunez returned to the U.S. illegally after a voluntary deportation from New Mexico in 2005, officials said. Dow did not have details about why he was deported or whether he has a criminal record in the U.S.

California issues driver's licenses to immigrants in the country illegally and Alarcon-Nunez had a valid license since 2015.

Alarcon-Nunez's immigration status will not have a bearing on the prosecution, Dow said. He could face life in prison if convicted on all charges.
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More: https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/uber-driver-in-us-illegally-charged-with-4-california-rapes/

 

[dannno]

He collected his fare payments through the smartphone app Venmo to disguise his identity and his Uber records.

Officials said Alarcon-Nunez was not always driving for Uber when he picked up women. Sometimes, drivers in cars parked outside bars or restaurants "jump in front of the actual Uber driver and they will take someone unsuspecting to their home. And that's a way of putting someone at risk, and in this case that's exactly what's alleged to have happened," Dow said.

So he was not picking up his Uber rides, he was tricking drunk people into thinking that he was their Uber driver.. or in some cases collecting fares on Venmo which is pretty shady.

The app gives you the name, picture, description of the vehicle and license plate.

If you want the protection that a service like Uber provides over traditional taxi services, it's important to verify your driver is the correct one.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

So he was not picking up his Uber rides, he was tricking drunk people into thinking that he was their Uber driver.. or in some cases collecting fares on Venmo which is pretty shady.

The app gives you the name, picture, description of the vehicle and license plate.

If you want the protection that a service like Uber provides over traditional taxi services, it's important to verify your driver is the correct one.

Drunk people might have problems verifying the car. Also, some of them might not care, and would have no problem jumping in a car that was there to pick someone else up. It's not just the drivers that cheat.

Would have to assume that Uber allowed him to be paid via Venmo. The actual riders most likely don't have or use that service.

 

[dannno]

Drunk people might have problems verifying the car. Also, some of them might not care, and would have no problem jumping in a car that was there to pick someone else up. It's not just the drivers that cheat.

Yes, that's why it's important to educate people about how to accept rides, but the fact is that if you use Uber correctly it is much much safer than taking a cab..

But impersonating an uber is honestly going to get you a lot more business than impersonating a cab, because nobody uses cabs anymore..

Would have to assume that Uber allowed him to be paid via Venmo. The actual riders most likely don't have or use that service.

No, absolutely not, Uber would not allow him to be paid by Venmo, it is completely against their terms as is asking for cash payment from riders. Uber doesn't get their cut, and in cases like this it allows for less transparency and safety of the rider.

Most college students have Venmo for paying bills and stuff to roommates. (Stuff = weed/drugs, paper towels, etc..)

It's funny cause I have some former hookups who are in college and if they are still in your contact list on your phone, Venmo let's you see their payment history.. So I know exactly how much weed they have all been buying lol...

 

[Danke]

“[h=2]“illegally charged with 4 California rapes”. Then the charges should be thrown out.[/h]

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Yes, that's why it's important to educate people about how to accept rides, but the fact is that if you use Uber correctly it is much much safer than taking a cab..

But impersonating an uber is honestly going to get you a lot more business than impersonating a cab, because nobody uses cabs anymore..



No, absolutely not, Uber would not allow him to be paid by Venmo, it is completely against their terms as is asking for cash payment from riders. Uber doesn't get their cut, and in cases like this it allows for less transparency and safety of the rider.

Most college students have Venmo for paying bills and stuff to roommates. (Stuff = weed/drugs, paper towels, etc..)

It's funny cause I have some former hookups who are in college and if they are still in your contact list on your phone, Venmo let's you see their payment history.. So I know exactly how much weed they have all been buying lol...

Interesting. So Uber itself would never pay the driver via a deposit to their Venmo? And if an Uber customer/passenger pays a driver directly with Venmo, they are both bypassing Uber, basically fraud. Hmm. Can see why Uber might have trouble helping with finding the guy, and why they might not be terribly motivated either.

And Venmo lets you see other people's ongoing transactions? Why do people use it again?

 

[dannno]

Interesting. So Uber itself would never pay the driver via a deposit to their Venmo? And if an Uber customer/passenger pays a driver directly with Venmo, they are both bypassing Uber, basically fraud. Hmm. Can see why Uber might have trouble helping with finding the guy, and why they might not be terribly motivated either.

Uber typically pays out once a week directly to driver's bank accounts, but they have a newer program where you can get paid instantly and cash out whenever you want.. it's not thru venmo tho.

If the guy logs in to his Uber Driver app I'm sure they could track him down, but if he knows he is wanted then he probably threw away his phone.

And Venmo lets you see other people's ongoing transactions? Why do people use it again?

Because I can connect my bank account, send or receive money to or from @Brian4Liberty (if you had that username) rather than having your bank account number, writing a check, cash/ATM, etc..

It's like twitter for sending people money, kinda like paypal but no email address and it's easy to connect to people and send them money over and over like if your roommate pays all the bills/rent or whatever.

Paypal should have gotten in on that, but I think they didn't have a good user friendly app when venmo was growing and everything is based on sending to email addresses which are clunky.