A third suspect has been arrested in relation to a credit card fraud case that happened July 21.
The man turned himself into police July 25 after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
The initial incident involved a group of men who were going to stores across Peterborough allegedly using stolen credit cards to make large purchases.
Two men were found and charged at the time but the third man involved wasn't found, city police said.
Sivakumar Subramaniam, 31, of St. Denis Drive of North York, came forward and was charged with possession of a stolen credit cards, possession of property obtained by crime and breach of probation.
He appears in court August 16.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Two officers charged in identity theft
Two corrections officers from the Central Booking and Intake Center were arrested yesterday and charged with stealing credit cards of people under arrest.
Lontona Maria Webb, 38, of the 3600 block of Clarinth Road and Latoya Renee James, 24, of the 1300 block of Dalton Road each face multiple counts of credit card fraud, identity theft and misconduct in office, according to charging documents.
In addition, Webb's boyfriend, Michael Moore, 26, also of the 3600 block of Clarinth Road, was charged with multiple offenses in connection with the scheme that police say defrauded eight victims of more than $5,000. Authorities would not specify the victims' alleged losses.
The economic crimes division of the state's attorney's office - which has been investigating the case since February - focused on the three after complaints from numerous detainees about their credit cards being stolen while they were held at Central Booking.
The three were indicted by a grand jury Thursday. The corrections officers worked the same shift at Central Booking.
During a search of Moore's and Webb's homes, police reportedly recovered credit cards of people who had been detained at Central Booking. Margaret T. Burns, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore state's attorney's office, said that more victims are likely "forthcoming" as the investigation continues.
Moore and James are being held on $100,000 bond each, and Webb on $50,000 bond. Arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 21.
Although details of the scheme are scant - Central Booking officials say they are prohibited from providing details while the investigation continues - the credit cards were stolen from detainees between November 2006 and March 2007. Court documents also show that both women worked at Central Booking when the victims claimed that their credit cards were stolen.
Nicholas Panteleakis, 34, a city public defender, said that his credit card was used to make nearly $1,000 in fraudulent purchases at McDonald's, Target and a gas station.
Panteleakis said that his credit card company took care of all of the fraudulent charges. Another alleged victim, a 26-year-old Elkridge man who was arrested for DUI in February, wasn't as lucky recouping his losses.
The man, who declined to be identified, said that his bank refunded $180 spent at a gas station and a Home Depot but that he had to pay $96 in nonsufficient-funds fees that resulted from the card charges.
The Sun detailed Panteleakis' claims of fraud at Central Booking in February. At that time, Panteleakis said he discovered that someone had used his credit card within six hours of his release from Central Booking. He said he believes the card was stolen after his wallet was checked as property at the facility when he was arrested on one count of loitering, a charged later dropped. He immediately canceled his credit card.
"If it wasn't for my access to the media and other avenues, I don't think anything would have become of it," he said. "People would still be having their stuff stolen from them."
Benjamin Brown, assistant commissioner for the Maryland Division of Pretrial Detention and Services, which operates Central Booking, said that his division has acted swiftly to deal with the allegations.
Webb was fired from her position at Central Booking in March, and James has been placed on administrative leave pending completion of an investigation, Brown said.
Security cameras also have been installed at the facility since the allegations, Brown said. The scheme is the first of its kind at Central Booking, he said.
"We get very, very few complaints of lost or stolen property, given the high volume of bookings processed each year," said Brown, referring to the 95,000 people detained annually.
Lontona Maria Webb, 38, of the 3600 block of Clarinth Road and Latoya Renee James, 24, of the 1300 block of Dalton Road each face multiple counts of credit card fraud, identity theft and misconduct in office, according to charging documents.
In addition, Webb's boyfriend, Michael Moore, 26, also of the 3600 block of Clarinth Road, was charged with multiple offenses in connection with the scheme that police say defrauded eight victims of more than $5,000. Authorities would not specify the victims' alleged losses.
The economic crimes division of the state's attorney's office - which has been investigating the case since February - focused on the three after complaints from numerous detainees about their credit cards being stolen while they were held at Central Booking.
The three were indicted by a grand jury Thursday. The corrections officers worked the same shift at Central Booking.
During a search of Moore's and Webb's homes, police reportedly recovered credit cards of people who had been detained at Central Booking. Margaret T. Burns, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore state's attorney's office, said that more victims are likely "forthcoming" as the investigation continues.
Moore and James are being held on $100,000 bond each, and Webb on $50,000 bond. Arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 21.
Although details of the scheme are scant - Central Booking officials say they are prohibited from providing details while the investigation continues - the credit cards were stolen from detainees between November 2006 and March 2007. Court documents also show that both women worked at Central Booking when the victims claimed that their credit cards were stolen.
Nicholas Panteleakis, 34, a city public defender, said that his credit card was used to make nearly $1,000 in fraudulent purchases at McDonald's, Target and a gas station.
Panteleakis said that his credit card company took care of all of the fraudulent charges. Another alleged victim, a 26-year-old Elkridge man who was arrested for DUI in February, wasn't as lucky recouping his losses.
The man, who declined to be identified, said that his bank refunded $180 spent at a gas station and a Home Depot but that he had to pay $96 in nonsufficient-funds fees that resulted from the card charges.
The Sun detailed Panteleakis' claims of fraud at Central Booking in February. At that time, Panteleakis said he discovered that someone had used his credit card within six hours of his release from Central Booking. He said he believes the card was stolen after his wallet was checked as property at the facility when he was arrested on one count of loitering, a charged later dropped. He immediately canceled his credit card.
"If it wasn't for my access to the media and other avenues, I don't think anything would have become of it," he said. "People would still be having their stuff stolen from them."
Benjamin Brown, assistant commissioner for the Maryland Division of Pretrial Detention and Services, which operates Central Booking, said that his division has acted swiftly to deal with the allegations.
Webb was fired from her position at Central Booking in March, and James has been placed on administrative leave pending completion of an investigation, Brown said.
Security cameras also have been installed at the facility since the allegations, Brown said. The scheme is the first of its kind at Central Booking, he said.
"We get very, very few complaints of lost or stolen property, given the high volume of bookings processed each year," said Brown, referring to the 95,000 people detained annually.
Credit card fraud rising
New figures have revealed that credit card fraud is continuing to rise as criminal gangs carry out more of the crimes.
Although chip and pin technology has had a positive impact on tackling card-present fraud, the research from accountants KPMG has shown that many fraudsters have moved to card-not-present scams.
Credit card fraud is now rising to record levels in the UK and the research highlights the importance of ensuring a high standard of identity authentication systems to make fraud as difficult as possible.
Banks can save significant amounts of money by ensuing identity authentication systems are complex, making it harder for fraudsters to obtain the information necessary to carry out fraudulent activity.
Commenting on the figures, Hitesh Patel of KPMG Forensic, told the Guardian: "The good news is that more fraud is being detected and prosecuted in court. The bad news is that this is probably because more fraud is being committed."
Although chip and pin technology has had a positive impact on tackling card-present fraud, the research from accountants KPMG has shown that many fraudsters have moved to card-not-present scams.
Credit card fraud is now rising to record levels in the UK and the research highlights the importance of ensuring a high standard of identity authentication systems to make fraud as difficult as possible.
Banks can save significant amounts of money by ensuing identity authentication systems are complex, making it harder for fraudsters to obtain the information necessary to carry out fraudulent activity.
Commenting on the figures, Hitesh Patel of KPMG Forensic, told the Guardian: "The good news is that more fraud is being detected and prosecuted in court. The bad news is that this is probably because more fraud is being committed."
Credit Card Fraud Still Rampant
The rampant use of credit cards, and especially that use compounded by the secret avenues of the internet, can put the common consumer in a substantially vulnerable position to become a victim of fraud. Much like computer viruses and the necessary adjustments made by internet providers, card companies and merchants are vigilantly combating fraud as it occurs and thinking of new ways to pre-empt it before it can hit. The cost of fraud is high, over 500 million pounds in the UK alone in 2004 so finding ways to anticipate and curtail the damage caused by fraud, is like the credit card industry itself, very big business.
Everyone wants a piece of the fraud protection trade. Credit card companies offer their own incentives and programs and advertise them through clever ads starring Donald Trump, Viking marauders, and unwitting customers channeling the voices of the thieves who made them victims. Internet sites like Scambusters dot com and Merchant911 dot com protect consumers and merchants respectively. Often these services are free, or just provide a forum within which consumers and merchants can share information regarding recent scams. Even email, which can easily be harvested for numbers being sent back and forth in transactions, is a potent medium through which consumers can communicate with each other about impending threats or even scams in progress. Though the elimination of fraud is an impossibility, its reduction is possible due to recent innovations in fraud prevention such as security chips, picture id's and the increasing awareness of online merchants.
Company databases often unwittingly supply massive amounts of credit card information to hackers, having conveniently kept it all in one place. Often, the merchant himself will be responsible for payment of the fraud if it is found that improper steps were taken to ascertain the purchaser's identity and/or adequately protect the identity of their consumer's. The purchases most at risk for fraud are "card not present" purchases. Sites like Merchant911.com list fraud screening sites like: preCharge, MaxMind, Cardinal Commerce, FraudSmack, WhyLabs and Merchant Sense all of them offering fraud-screening services to the merchant community, specifically e-merchants who deal exclusively with "card not present" scenarios. Consumers have other resources, including identity theft protection software, many of these offered by ClearCommerce.
Though the dangers of "card not present" shopping are manifold, the convenience and ease of shopping from home will likely do little do deter even the most nervous consumer. Though fraud may never be eradicated, online services, software and common sense go along way towards total protection.
Everyone wants a piece of the fraud protection trade. Credit card companies offer their own incentives and programs and advertise them through clever ads starring Donald Trump, Viking marauders, and unwitting customers channeling the voices of the thieves who made them victims. Internet sites like Scambusters dot com and Merchant911 dot com protect consumers and merchants respectively. Often these services are free, or just provide a forum within which consumers and merchants can share information regarding recent scams. Even email, which can easily be harvested for numbers being sent back and forth in transactions, is a potent medium through which consumers can communicate with each other about impending threats or even scams in progress. Though the elimination of fraud is an impossibility, its reduction is possible due to recent innovations in fraud prevention such as security chips, picture id's and the increasing awareness of online merchants.
Company databases often unwittingly supply massive amounts of credit card information to hackers, having conveniently kept it all in one place. Often, the merchant himself will be responsible for payment of the fraud if it is found that improper steps were taken to ascertain the purchaser's identity and/or adequately protect the identity of their consumer's. The purchases most at risk for fraud are "card not present" purchases. Sites like Merchant911.com list fraud screening sites like: preCharge, MaxMind, Cardinal Commerce, FraudSmack, WhyLabs and Merchant Sense all of them offering fraud-screening services to the merchant community, specifically e-merchants who deal exclusively with "card not present" scenarios. Consumers have other resources, including identity theft protection software, many of these offered by ClearCommerce.
Though the dangers of "card not present" shopping are manifold, the convenience and ease of shopping from home will likely do little do deter even the most nervous consumer. Though fraud may never be eradicated, online services, software and common sense go along way towards total protection.
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