San Leandro couple held in gift-card scam
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
SAN LEANDRO -- A San Leandro couple have been indicted for allegedly stealing people's credit card information, using it to stock up on Nordstrom gift cards and pocketing thousands of dollars in cash refunds from items they purchased using the cards.
Amanda Mata, 20, bought the gift cards over the past year at Safeway stores throughout Northern California, the U.S. Secret Service said.
She and her 27-year-old boyfriend, Lamar Cotton, used some of the cards' value to buy items at Nordstrom and took the rest of the balance in cash, authorities said.
The couple then returned the merchandise for cash at different Nordstrom branches, Secret Service Special Agent Lori Choquette wrote in an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
Mata received nearly $52,000 in cash refunds from various Nordstrom stores in California, Oregon and Arizona, authorities said. She allegedly bought $232,000 in gift cards at Safeway stores using counterfeit credit cards.
"This is a multistep process to basically launder the fraudulently purchased gift cards and turn them into cash," Choquette wrote.
In a federal grand jury indictment unsealed Thursday in San Francisco, Mata and Cotton were each charged with conspiracy to possess unauthorized access devices, fraudulent use and fraudulent possession of access devices. Both were being held at Alameda County jails.
The couple were identified with the help of Safeway and Nordstrom employees as well as surveillance photos taken at various stores, authorities said.
Federal prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of Cotton's Jaguar automobile as well as equipment used to make fake credit cards.
E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
SAN LEANDRO -- A San Leandro couple have been indicted for allegedly stealing people's credit card information, using it to stock up on Nordstrom gift cards and pocketing thousands of dollars in cash refunds from items they purchased using the cards.
Amanda Mata, 20, bought the gift cards over the past year at Safeway stores throughout Northern California, the U.S. Secret Service said.
She and her 27-year-old boyfriend, Lamar Cotton, used some of the cards' value to buy items at Nordstrom and took the rest of the balance in cash, authorities said.
The couple then returned the merchandise for cash at different Nordstrom branches, Secret Service Special Agent Lori Choquette wrote in an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
Mata received nearly $52,000 in cash refunds from various Nordstrom stores in California, Oregon and Arizona, authorities said. She allegedly bought $232,000 in gift cards at Safeway stores using counterfeit credit cards.
"This is a multistep process to basically launder the fraudulently purchased gift cards and turn them into cash," Choquette wrote.
In a federal grand jury indictment unsealed Thursday in San Francisco, Mata and Cotton were each charged with conspiracy to possess unauthorized access devices, fraudulent use and fraudulent possession of access devices. Both were being held at Alameda County jails.
The couple were identified with the help of Safeway and Nordstrom employees as well as surveillance photos taken at various stores, authorities said.
Federal prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of Cotton's Jaguar automobile as well as equipment used to make fake credit cards.
E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.
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