Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SPRINGVILLE — A group of men used stolen information to create fraudulent credit cards and make purchases at stores across Utah, police said.
Three men were arrested Thursday in connection with the fraud, but Springville police said they are still looking for a fourth partner and hope to speak with two additional persons of interest. Detectives started investigating the men after they received several reports of items being purchased with stolen banking information at the Springville Wal-Mart, according to Lt. Dave Caron.
A detective was following up on the reports at the Springville store when he learned the men had been back again, according to police. Police said the group had recently left the location, but returned to Springville after unsuccessfully trying to make purchases at the Wal-Mart in Spanish Fork.
“Our officers had remained in the area and were waiting to hear if the Spanish Fork Police Department was able to find them when they came back into the (Springville) store and were notified,” Caron said.
He said police conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle near Wal-Mart.
“The officer who stopped (the car) said that as soon as he pulled over, the driver jumped into the backseat of the car with the other two people and they were moving around frantically,” he said. “What we discovered when he got them out is they had stuffed dozens of bank cards into their underwear, apparently in an effort to hide them.”
Julio Gonzales Ricardo, 34, Yornelis Correa-Machado, 38, and Eduardo Fernandez-Sanchez, 30, were arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail. During a search of the vehicle, investigators said they found gift cards worth more than $8,000 that had been purchased fraudulently.
Bank cards containing stolen information, including information taken from Utah residents, were also recovered from the car, according to police. A GPS device was programmed with coordinates for various Wal-Mart locations.
“They had a bunch of merchandise — clothing, kids’ clothing, candy, that sort of thing — in Wal-Mart bags with the receipts from different Wal-Marts in the state,” Caron said.
Detectives are still working to determine how large the operation is. The Springville Police Department contacted the Las Vegas Metro Police Department after determining the men and car appeared to be from the Las Vegas area. They also notified federal law enforcement.
Police are still looking for Osvaldo Pilas-Rojas, 45, in connection with the fraud. They also released surveillance images of two other men who are persons of interest.
Anyone with information about the men or fraud can contact the Springville Police Department at 801-489-9421.
Contributing: Brianna Bodily
