Group Tried To Scam Sarasota Store Out of $11,000

A retail scam that attempted to take $11,000 of merchandise from a North Sarasota store is causing the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office to tell merchants to beware.

The sheriff's office arrested five St. Petersburg residents in a scheme after the group tried to use a RushCard Visa to make the large purchase at Look at Me Now Urban Wear, 3251 17th St.

A RushCard Visa is a prepaid card, so money has to be pre-loaded by the person onto the card.

When the transaction could not be processed as a debit, it was also attempted as a credit.

When that also failed the female suspect pretended to call the bank, and the alleged bank representative gave the clerk permission to run the card “offline,” according to the Sheriff's Office.

The clerk then recalled a scam alert that detailed a similar crime and stalled the suspects until deputies arrived.

Responding deputies found two men in a waiting Lexus, one at the store entrance and two inside.

Deputies also determined that the person pretending to be the bank official was actually one of the men in the car, the Sheriff's Office said.

The five suspects charged with scheme to defraud, according to the Sheriff's Office, are:

• Jermell Ford, 790 27th Ave. S, St. Petersburg

• Wanda Douglass, 2111 13th St. S, St. Petersburg

• Terron Gland, 5505 4th Ave. N., St. Petersburg

• DeJuan Poole; 2161 8th Ave N, St. Petersburg and

• Gavarian Sampson, 1414 20 Ave. S, St. Petersburg

Poole faces one additional charge for possession of marijuana, the Sheriff's Office said.

All of the suspects have prior arrests in Pinellas County for a range of crimes, including aggravated battery, grand theft and burglary, the sheriff's office said.

Anyone with information on these suspects or their activities, or who believes their business may have been victimized in a similar scheme, is encouraged to call Criminal Investigations at 941-861-4900.