Goldsboro Police Department foils stolen credit card ring
By Gary Popp
Published in News on April 21, 2011 1:46 PM
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Three people have been charged by Goldsboro police for using stolen credit card numbers to make purchases of more than $12,000 at area retailers.
Jaonta Scarlett, 22, of New York, and Kevin Duane Anderson, 21, of Delaware, have each been charged with 25 counts of obtaining property by false pretense.
A third suspect, Anessa Niranjan, 18, of New York, has been charged with one count of aiding and abetting obtaining property by false pretense.
The suspects have been using stolen credit card numbers to purchase pre-paid Visa cards, assorted gift cards and other merchandise from Target, Wal-Mart, and other stores since early this month.
The suspects used the stolen credit card numbers to make purchases until the cards were declined. Once a credit card number was declined, they would use another stolen credit card number to make purchases until it too was declined.
This process would be repeated over and over, investigators said.
Detectives said the suspects would steal pre-paid credit cards from stores and encode the stolen credit card numbers onto the cards. They then used the fraudulent cards to purchase legitimate gift cards from retailers.
Investigators said they are not yet sure how the suspects obtained the compromised credit card numbers.
The Goldsboro police were contacted April 11 by Sierra Vista Police Department, which advised the department that a resident of Sierra Vista had his credit card number used at Target in Goldsboro on April 6.
On April 6 and 7, Scarlett and Anderson purchased $5,962.52 worth of pre-paid debit cards and merchandise from Target in Goldsboro.
Ms. Scarlett and Anderson, along with other unidentified individuals, have been seen at other Target locations including Garner, Rocky Mount, Greenville and Wilson, investigators said.
On April 14, Ms. Scarlett and Anderson were recognized as suspects while in the Target on Sunburst Drive where they had purchased $3,310.61 worth of pre-paid debit cards and merchandise.
Goldsboro police made the three arrests shortly after Ms. Scarlett and Anderson left the store. Ms. Niranjan was driving a Silver Dodge Ram truck with Tennessee plates when police made the stop.
The following merchandise was found in the vehicle:
* $8,250.00 in pre-paid Visa Target cards (82 $100 cards and one $50 card)
* Three 32GB IPod Touches
* Two Compaq laptop computers
* Wireless back up camera system
* Four Whistler radar detectors
* IPod accessories (USP connector and ear phones)
* Two sets of Embark suitcase sets
* Sony IPod dock station
* HP Laptop Computer
* Garmin 1450 GPS Unit
* Assorted clothing merchandise
* 143 assorted gift cards of unknown amounts
Ms. Scarlett has also been charged by Goldsboro police with one count of possession with the intent to sell and deliver a controlled substance, one count of maintaining a vehicle for the purpose of a controlled substance and one count of simple possession of marijuana.
Additional charges are expected.
Ms. Scarlett was placed under a $433,000 secured bond. Anderson was placed under a $425,000 bond.