South Strabane police arrest Florida men for credit card forgery
From left, Juan Carlos Romero and Robelys Rodriguez
Juan Carlos Romero
Robelys Rodriguez
Two Florida men were arrested Tuesday by South Strabane Township police after they allegedly were found with a large quantity of fraudulently obtained credit and gift cards.
Robelys Rodriguez, 41, and Juan Carlos Romero, 48, both of Miami, are charged with access device fraud, forgery and conspiracy. The men, both Cuban nationals, were taken into custody outside Sam’s Club at Trinity Point.
A loss-prevention officer for the store told police he had experience with those who obtain identity and financial information from others and use it for what appear to be legitimate cards. The bogus cards are then used to purchase gift cards, make purchases or are sold.
Police were called about 5:45 p.m. for a report of a theft in progress at the store. They were told by a 911 dispatcher that a loss-prevention officer said a man who previously used a stolen credit card was checking out. Police received a description of the man, who left the store and was pushing a shopping cart to the end of the parking lot.
Sgt. Michael Manfredi spotted the man, later identified as Rodriguez, walking to the rear of a car with Rhode Island license plates. The driver, identified as Romero, spotted the approaching police car and sped off.
The car was stopped in the center of the parking lot. Police said inside Romero’s wallet, the center console and the glovebox of the car were a large number of credit cards and $200 MasterCard debit/credit cards. The cards appeared to be issued by Chase and Bank of America in the names of Romero and Rodriguez. Police also found a Sam’s Club card issued in the name of David Moran, along with receipts from the store indicating four $200 gift cards were purchased.
Inside Rodriguez’ wallet, police said they found two Sam’s Club cards in two other names in addition to credit cards that appeared to have been issued by five different credit card companies. Also in his wallet, police said they found 16 $200 MasterCard debit/credit cards.
Both were arraigned before District Judge Jay Weller and placed in Washington County jail on $100,000 bonds. They are scheduled for an Aug. 5 preliminary hearing before Weller.