An O'ahu grand jury yesterday indicted two Californians on charges of participating in a sophisticated identity theft ring that targeted different branches of CitiFinancial Inc. here this month and last month.

Audrey L. Collins and Willie E. Briggs allegedly used driver's licenses, Social Security numbers and other forms of personal identification belonging to unwitting victims in six Mainland states to apply for, and receive, personal loans ranging in value from $5,000 to $7,000, according to Deputy Prosecutor Christopher Van Marter.

Two alert CitiFinancial employees detected the fraud as it was still unfolding and alerted police, who arrested Collins and Briggs, according to Van Marter.

Collins allegedly told police that she and Briggs "do not work for a gang but for a professional criminal enterprise" based in Los Angeles, Van Marter said.

Some members of the group are responsible for acquiring phony identification records, others manufacture them and others use them, the prosecutor said.

The defendants arrived on Maui last month and stayed there for several days until six packages of phony documents were airfreighted to them from California, Van Marter said.

The pair then flew to O'ahu and began using the records to apply for personal loans at different CitiFinancial branches, according to Van Marter.

When loans were approved, the defendants then wired the money back to California, he said.

Collins and Briggs are "career criminals" with felony records in California, North Carolina and Tennessee, Van Marter said.

Charges against them include racketeering, identity theft and illegal possession of confidential personal information.

If convicted, the pair could face mandatory 20-year prison sentences.