Richard Brown, left; Stayshawn Stephens, right.(Pearl River Police Department)
Just for general information, if you are ever going through Pearl River don't speed. It's a notorious speed trap.
Posted on 10/19/2017 3:34:45 PM PDT by BBell
An effort to avoid paying a $7.41 bill at a Waffle House in tiny Pearl River has led to the arrest of two out-of-state men and the discovery of a sophisticated interstate identity theft scheme that is now being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.
The two suspects are accused of installing credit card skimming devices at gas pumps, which allowed them to steal credit card information from unwitting victims. The information was being used to create counterfeit credit cards that were used to make fraudulent purchases or sold to other individuals, according to the Pearl River Police Department. Investigators have traced the scam to its base in Los Angeles.
The investigation unfolded early Saturday (Oct. 14) when Pearl River Police were notified that two men had left a Waffle House without paying their bill and had fled in a U-Haul van. As officers were taking a report at the restaurant, Lt. Tommy Benasco and Officer Jay Simmons spotted a U-Haul van in the parking lot of a hotel nearby, police said.
As the two officers approached, one of the suspects, later identified as Richard A. Brown, 18, from Indiana, fled on foot and disappeared into a wooded area near Interstate 59. The second suspect, Stayshawn D. Stephens, 19, of California, was arrested in the parking lot. With the assistance of Slidell Police Officer Justin Stokes and police dog Scout, Brown was located and quickly apprehended in the woods.
Upon investigation, police discovered and seized from the two suspects several fake identification cards, counterfeit credit cards and credit card skimming devices. Also found was a Waffle House ticket for $7.41, police said.
The investigation further revealed that Stephens and Brown were recruited and hired by an unidentified person and had been flown into Louis Armstrong International Airport from different states. The two suspects
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Richard Brown, left; Stayshawn Stephens, right.(Pearl River Police Department)
Just for general information, if you are ever going through Pearl River don't speed. It's a notorious speed trap.
U.S. Secret Service Financial Crimes Taskforce is involved now.
“Sheriff Jennings said. “Let this be a lesson in etiquette as well; pay your bill and tip your waitress.”
Very good advice. Don’t Dine and dash.
Agree about identity thieves.
I heard a horror story about a fellow whose brother assumed the first brother’s identity then proceeded to get into all manner of legal trouble and ran out on a sizable hospital bill plus utility bills from a whole string of residences. (There are generally no *un*sizable hospital bills)
The first brother (totally responsible working adult) has been unable to get a loan for a house or to get any sort of credit, and has fighting this for over 30 years. Think about the thousands of hours of grief and arguing with sleazebags he’s had to go through for that long.
..but it good to see cooperation and teamwork between the races.
Jeff Sessions wants in on this here case!
“You boys don’t even know who you’re dealin’ with!”
“Not the brightest lights these are. I hope they hang them by their nuts. I hate identity thieves.”
You got that right. Start dishing out blood eagles to these scum and id theft will come to screeching halt. Country is far to pussy in dealing with these bastards.
Ebony, & Ivory; Stealing in perfect harmony!
“U.S. Secret Service Financial Crimes Taskforce is involved now.”
Thats a laugher! Ive had several id thefts and when I called they told me to take a hike....not enough money involved. About $500.
A fellow co-worker of mine had his identity stolen by his cousin. My cousin’s kid had his identity stolen by my cousin’s boyfriend. The poor kid was not even 18 and he had creditors coming after him.
Identity thief like obama.
I did think that was a witty remark.
Stayshawn.
Maybe they had a much loved dog named Shawn.
.
Thank you for identifying which name belonged to which guy. I never would’ve guessed that Stayshawn is on the right. ;)
My card got copied on a gas pump skimmer. I got a call from VISA to ask about two large charges that had been attempted at WalMart. The charges didn’t go through so I didn’t lose anything and neither did VISA. I suspected a particular gas pump where I had got gas the day before. I had been lax about looking at the seals on the pumps. When I looked at the pump the seal was broken. I told the manager who just blew it off and then went back out to my bike. On a hunch I checked the other pumps. All 7 of them had broken seals. I am quite convinced the manager of the convenience store/gas station was the owner of those skimmers. I got a new card number but had to use cash for two weeks. I had almost forgotten how to operate dollar bills. I am now careful about those seals.
I used to work with a guy who was from Puerto Rico and since he spoke spanish and was the manager in the bindery he would translate for all the illegals and hispanics at the plant.
One day he told me a story about a guy, who could only speak spanish, who came up to him and wanted to know about this strange deduction on his check. The guy, Edwin told him that is usually a deduction for alimony or child support.
The other guy started swearing and got all pissed off.
It turns out he bought a SS# from a guy who owed child support and they were taking it out of HIS paycheck. The guy couldn’t quit till he could find a new job. He ended up paying about six weeks of child support for some other guy’s kid. He couldn’t even go and change his name to get out of it.
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