Nationwide manhunt for Las Cruces woman accused of identity theft

A nationwide warrant has been issued for the arrest of a Las Cruces woman suspected of stealing her roommate’s identification and tallying more than $5,000 in purchases using credit cards she illegally obtained.

Nancy G. Melendez-Farfan, 23, is charged with two counts of identity theft, two counts of fraudulently signing a credit or sales slip, and one count each of fraudulent use of an illegally obtained credit card, forgery and fraudulently taking or receiving a credit card.

Las Cruces Police learned that Melendez-Farfan was renting a room from a 56-year-old woman in 2015.

Investigators believe that on Nov. 7, Melendez-Farfan contacted Discover Card under the guise of the 56-year-old roommate and applied for credit under the woman’s name. Melendez-Farfan then added her name to the fraudulent account and changed the billing address to her place of employment.

Investigators learned that from Nov. 13 through Dec. 2, Melendez-Farfan made 52 purchases totaling $5,460 on the fraudulently-obtained Discover Card.

The majority of those purchases were made in or from Las Cruces, but detectives also discovered that Melendez-Farfan made additional purchases in Albuquerque, El Paso and Canutillo.

Investigators further discovered that Melendez-Farfan embezzled several hundred dollars from a now former employer, and subsequently used the Discover Card in an attempt to cover the stolen funds.

Melendez-Farfan agreed to turn herself in to police on Tuesday, Jan. 26, but has failed to do so and has been consistently deceitful with investigators.

Melendez-Farfan is Hispanic, approximately 5-feet-7-inches tall and weighs 150 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Melendez-Farfan is asked to call police at (575) 526-0795.