Five Mexican citizens have been indicted on federal credit card and wire fraud charges in connection with a scheme that officials say resulted in more than $470,000 in purchases using fake gift cards.
Secret Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Daniela Acosta-Ayon, Dagoberto Bringas-Lopez, Victor Andres Farhat-Alvarez, Jorge Gonzalez-Barron and Efrain Limon-Lopez on June 3 after raiding an apartment near East Prince Road and North First Avenue and a mobile home near West Ruthrauff Road and North La Cholla Boulevard, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Tucson
During the raid agents found the group in possession of more than 50 fraudently encoded gift cards, two credit card encoders, two embossers and 500 blank gift cards, court records show.
The group is alleged to have purchased stolen credit card numbers from Russia, then embossed them on gift cards in order to make purchases at stores throughout the country, court records show.
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Some members of the group would then resell the stolen goods, according to court records.
A fraud investigator with Citibank estimated the group had made at least $470,000 in purchases with the fake cards prior to their arrests, court records show.
The five defendants are scheduled to be arraigned July 15 in Tucson's Federal Court.
