IE Businessman Charged Customers For Products They Didn't Order: Authorities

UPLAND, CA — A California business owner is accused of several crimes after he directed his employees to charge thousands of credit and debit card accounts for products that customers didn’t order, according to authorities.

Jason Edward Thomas Cardiff, 48, formerly of Upland, is charged with access device fraud, aggravated identity theft and two counts of witness tampering, authorities said, adding he was arraigned Monday and has pleaded not guilty.

Cardiff owned Redwood Scientific Technologies, which sold homeopathic thin film strip products, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. For several months in 2018, he instructed workers to use past customers’ credit and debit card information to charge for additional products they had not ordered, authorities said. He also told employees to destroy documents that were responsive to a Federal Trade Commission Civil Investigative Demand, according to the department.

“This indictment alleges a blatant ripoff that simply charged customers for products they never ordered,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada of the Central District of California said in a news release. “We will remain vigilant to protect consumers from predatory businesses that exploit the trust placed in them by consumers.”

If convicted, Cardiff faces up to 15 years in prison for the fraud charge, 20 years in prison for the witness tampering charges, and at least two years in prison for the identity theft charge, according to the department. His trial is set for Jan. 23, authorities said.