GREENBURGH, NY — A Hudson Valley man has been accused of stealing two cars via a scheme that involved using a 10-year-old's Social Security number to open bank accounts. Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. announced Monday that Andre Mendez, 26, of Avalon Gardens Drive in Nanuet, was arraigned in Greenburgh Town Court on Sept. 8, 2017 and was charged with third-degree criminal possession of stolen property, a felony.

Mendez pleaded not guilty. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.) Scarpino said Mendez is alleged to have created a synthetic identity using his actual name and date of birth along with the Social Security number of an unsuspecting 10-year-old victim. He then opened bank accounts to establish credit with that identity.

Investigators believe that Mendez was able to use the child's Social Security number because banks and credit agencies had no record for that number, and therefore were not aware that the number identified a child. Once these accounts were established, he leased and financed motor vehicles using the same synthetic identity which now could sustain a credit check.

On Feb. 1, 2017, Mendez financed a 2017 Toyota Camry SE from Westchester Toyota in Yonkers, New York giving the victim child's social security number as his own, investigators said. The following day, he leased a 2017 Honda Accord Sport from White Plains Honda in White Plains, New York using the same synthetic identity. Mendez made no payments toward either of these vehicles and had been driving both cars even though his license is revoked and insurance lapsed, police said.

This investigation began in May of this year and culminated his arrest Friday as he left the Town of Greenburgh Court. He had appeared for an first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation and aggravated driving while intoxicated case from March 26.

Police said Mendez drove to court in the stolen and fraudulently purchased Toyota.

After his arrest, district attorney's office investigators recovered the stolen and fraudulently purchased Honda Accord at an auto body shop in the Bronx. Mendez also has a pending Driving While Intoxicated case out of the City of Yonkers. This investigation was carried out by investigators from the Westchester County District Attorney's Office.