San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis announced this week that at least 30 people, including many white supremacists, have been arrested and charged in connection with a credit-card fraud ring. The fraud ring committed multiple crimes across the county including counterfeit, robbery and burglary, and drug possession. The group created fake $100 dollar bills, tapped into credit-card accounts by re-encoding the magnetic strips on gift cards, and traded methamphetamine and heroine for credit card information from hotel employees.
The investigation into the ring, known as "Operation Blue Ray," was conducted from October 2009 until last month and involved the District Attorney's Office, the Secret Service, the San Diego Regional Fraud Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the San Diego Police Department. Dumanis said that the credit-card fraud ring was "one of the most organized counterfeiting operations" ever in San Diego County.
Dumanis said that the group operated money labs in high-end hotels. In the labs they "washed" money to turn $1 dollar bills into $100 dollar bills. The process involves bleaching the numbers off money and re-printing it. Since the bills still felt like real money, it often was accepted by retailers. The group used credit cards stolen from vehicles and home-invasions to pay for the hotels.
Investigators found more than 5,000 credit-card data files and determined the group used at least $100,000 in fake bills. The group also used machines called re-encoders to put stolen credit card information onto legitimate gift cards. The group could then use the gift cards to make purchases.
Source:
30 charged in counterfeit and fraud ring (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
