Three Charged with Fraud after Alert Job Lot Employees Detect Scam

One way credit card and gift card scammers launder ill-gotten money is to buy gift cards with stolen cards.

The scheme enables thieves to pile up seemingly legit cards that can be sold for cash or used to buy valuable items.

Three people from Hartford, Conn., found out on Tuesday that trying to rip off Ocean State Job Lot is a surefire way to end up not with free money, but with handcuffs.

The Coventry Police Department arrested the three alleged fraudsters after store employees realized they were trying to pull off the scam on Tuesday afternoon.

Police said that Lakiesha Leonard, 20; Michael Fraylon, 23; and Darron Sheridan, 22, were each charged with felony larceny by obtaining a credit card through fraudulent means and a misdemeanor count of obstruction of justice.

In a news release, police said that they responded to the Ocean State Job Lot on Tiogue Avenue after Leonard tried to buy a “Vanilla” Visa gift card with another prepaid card.

“The store employees were aware of an ongoing scam involving these scams and immediately contacted police,” police said.

Police said that the suspects had more than 50 falsely embossed credit cards and numerous gift cards.

The suspected cards that were recovered appeared to have been legitimate gift cards and prepaid cards at one point, but the printed information on the cards had been removed from the front and later embossed with stolen credit card numbers.

The suspects are believed to have targeted several other retail locations throughout New England.

Coventry detectives are continuing to investigate with several other law enforcement agencies.

All three were arraigned in Third Division District Court on Wednesday.