Five people in Florida were arrested Thursday after investigators discovered a sophisticated ATM fraud scheme using stolen debit and credit card information.
At approximately 10:00 a.m. on April 24, the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department got a report of a suspicious person making fraudulent ATM withdrawals in Pearl. Surveillance officers spotted a Black individual pedaling a scooter between a neighboring hotel and an ATM, making multiple transactions.
Following the monitoring, authorities secured search warrants from the Rankin County Justice Court and conducted a takedown operation at the hotel. Caesar Allen, Lashuntavia Dequanna Mathis, Takya Princess Mathis, Gary Louis Coley, and Percy James Williams were the five suspects arrested without incident.
The defendants are now facing various felony counts stemming from fraudulent transactions and are being held without bond at the Rankin County Detention Center pending their first court appearance.
Several Visa gift cards, a machine for encoding credit and debit cards, and roughly $5,700 in cash were seized during the investigation. Investigators believe the suspects used the encoding device to transfer stolen card information to gift cards, which they then used to withdraw cash.
The Rankin County Sheriff’s Office expressed gratitude to the Pearl Police Department for its cooperation. Officials said the investigation is still ongoing, with the prospect of additional arrests and charges.
