May 24, 2010
-
News: Nation's Capital Invaded By CC Thieves
Visitors and residents alike in the vicinity of the United States Capital became victims of three credit card thieves working for a much larger ring of criminals. Three servers at the Cheesecake Factory restaurant in the Washingotn, D.C. area have been arrested for credit card theft while employed at the restaurant. Two unnamed servers who have been cooperating with investigators said that a third server named Nicole Ward asked them if they would like to make some extra money. The servers admitted to becoming a part of the credit card scam. Ward provided the two servers with a "skimming" device which was used to capture the customers' credit card numbers and PIN information. Afterward, Ward allegedly handed the skimmers over to two other thieves believed to be a part of a larger ring and known only as "Slim" and "G".
The skimmers were used by the credit card theft ring to duplicate plastic cards and then by another group of thieves that racked up over $117,000 in fraudulent charges. The investigation began when Chase Bank became suspicious after noticing a connection between the Cheesecake Restaurant and several reported fraudulent activities where stolen credit card numbers had been used to purchase gift cards and merchandise at local retailers including Sam's Club. The Secret Service launched an investigation and was able to narrow the illegal activity down to the three servers. Upon questioning, Ward admitted to the Secret Service that she was involved in the scam.
According to court documents, Ward said she became involved in the credit card scam to earn extra money. She admitted to stealing nearly $5,000 during a one month time period. She was arrested and appeared before a Federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia where she faces charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. She has been ordered not to have contact with any other suspect or individual associated with the case.