Woman posts bail with stolen credit card
By Nick Hiltunen
Published in News on June 21, 2010 1:46 PM
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Christie Ruffin
Goldsboro authorities are looking for a Fremont couple who allegedly conspired to use stolen credit cards to buy a man's way out of the county jail, a sergeant reported.
Detective Sgt. Thomas Flores said Christie Lynn Ruffin, 28, wife of Wilkes Ruffin, 32, on March 30 paid for Ruffin's $10,000 bond with stolen credit card information.
She also allegedly used a stolen identity to pay for the phone service, Pay-Tell Communications, which prisoners must purchase in jail to use telephones while incarcerated, authorities said.
In another line item on the bill, Mrs. Ruffin also allegedly used the card to pay for her own cellular phone service, according to people familiar with the case.
According to county records, Wilkes Ruffin had been in jail on charges from both Wayne and Johnston counties.
Wayne County charges levied against Ruffin include failure to appear in court and failure to appear for a fictitious vehicle tag or registration card.
The Johnston County charges included operating a vehicle with no insurance and larceny by an employee, according to records provided by the county jail.
Flores said he does not yet know how many charges might be filed against the Ruffins, because the investigation is not complete.
However, the detective did say through a news release that the pair would be charged with "multiple felony fraud and conspiracy charges."
The Sheriff's Office did not release the names of the victims of the credit card theft, nor the total amount that might have been illegally taken from the accounts.
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the pair is asked to call the Wayne County Sheriff's Office Financial Crimes Unit at 731-1481, or the Crime Stoppers hotline at 735-2255.
The Ruffins' last known address was 505 Wooten St., Fremont, but detectives have received credible information that they might be in the Kenly area.