Dennis RomeroWouldn't you just love to have a virtually unlimited supply of credit cards that could rack up $45 million in charges?
Us too. The problem for 38-year-old Eastsider Jose Rolando Renderos his accomplices was that the cards were fake and the charges were fraudulent, according to a U.S. federal grand jury indictment announced today.
It was fun while it lasted, though:
Authorities believe the trio under indictment used the cards to purchase “high-end” goods for resale. In a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement statement, Milagro del Carmen Alvarez Hernandez, 27, is accused of using …
… one of the counterfeit cards in December to purchase more than $1,600 worth of merchandise at a children's boutique in Los Angeles.
Hells yeah! (Until the handcuffs get slapped on. Then it's hells no).
Credit: Steven Depolo / Flickr
Under yesterday's indictment Renderos, 38, and Alvarez, both of Montebello, and Renderos' son, 18-year-old Jose Ulloa of San Bernardino, are accused of so-called device fraud, possession of counterfeit access devices, and trafficking in counterfeit goods.
Feds say 90,000 blank, fake credit cards from China that could be encoded with account numbers lifted from point-of-sale swipes were linked to the ring.
The cards had the logos of American Express, Capitol One, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo on them: The case was sparked two weeks ago when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intercepted 12,000 fake cards sent to San Bernardino from China, feds say.
Investigators say they subsequently found a cache of 80,000 cards — along with embossing machines and “card skimmers” — being stored in Monterey Park.
Even if they had credit lines of $500 each the cards could have netted $45 million worth of goods, according to ICE.
The defendants were due in court Feb. 25. Suffice it to say, we don't think the court is going to accept plastic for bail.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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