A CBS News California investigation reveals more than 800 business registrations filed last year in the state appear fraudulent. Criminals exploit a weak spot in the system by stealing identities of former legal immigrants—often those who came on student or work visas and later left the country.

These “golden IDs” allow scammers to quickly set up shell companies online through the Secretary of State’s website with little verification. The fake entities, frequently in construction or real estate, secure high-limit business credit lines unavailable to individuals. Fraudsters then max out the credit, default, and vanish—leaving victims with ruined finances.

David Maimon, a fraud investigator for SentiLink, explained the pattern: “We find a lot of identities connected with former legal immigrants here in the U.S.” He added that these victims’ records make detection harder “because the victims aren’t here to notice quickly.”

One victim, a former Penn State student now back in Thailand, saw her credit score crash from around 800 to 419 after 30 fraudulent accounts were opened in her name. “They opened 30 fraudulent accounts in my name. There were thousands in charges,” she said. “It took years to even start fixing this.”

CBS reporters visited one sham business address—a private home in North Hills—for “Andriusonis Kitchen & Bath,” registered in November 2023. Residents had no connection to the company and knew nothing about it.

The online filing system enables rapid setup, turning California into a growing hotspot for this scheme. Victims face years of effort and expense to clear their names and rebuild credit, while lax safeguards let the fraud continue unchecked.