On Aug. 15, 2015, two men were arrested and accused of identity theft in Florida. The incident occurred after police received calls pertaining to credit card fraud. The allegations of white collar crime that were made against the men involve purchases made at a local gas station in Willoughby.
Police say that they received a total of five complaints regarding unauthorized used of credit cards. The alleged victims of the fraudulent purchases stated that they all still had possession of their cards at the time the purchases were made. During a police interview with a witness at the gas station, the two men suspected in the incidents entered the establishment.
The officer reportedly stopped them from trying to exit the store. It has since been alleged that the men had cloned the credit cards in question. They are also accused of using Vanilla Cards to reload the cloned cards with available funds in increments of hundreds of dollars at a time. A Vanilla Card is a purchasable card that allows a person to add money to an American Express Bluebird card in order to pay bills or conduct ATM transactions.
Any person charged with a similar white collar crime in Florida might choose to discuss his or her case with an experienced legal professional in the area. Being charged with a crime by no means constitutes guilt as all persons are presumed innocent unless proved otherwise in court. A criminal lawyer would be able to evaluate an individual case in order to help determine what options are available in preparing a defense strategy in light of the charges he or she faces.
Source: news-herald.com, “Florida men accused of stealing identities, making fraudulent purchases in Willoughby”, Matt Skrajner, Aug. 18, 2015
