Chicago pair arrested on fraud charges in Edinburgh

For The Daily Journal

Two people were arrested on fraud charges after police found more than 800 packs of cigarettes and 40 gift or credit cards in their vehicle.

Sir Patrick R. Taylor, 25, and Gerlissa G. Turner, 26, both of Chicago, were arrested on charges of fraud on a financial institution, corrupt business influence, fraud, neglect of a dependent and theft. Turner also was arrested on a charge of reckless driving.

Edinburgh police said the two were loading other people’s credit card numbers onto gift and credit cards and attempting to buy cigarettes with them.

Around 1 p.m. Monday, police were called to a gas station on State Road 252 about a theft. The gas station owner told police a man had come in to purchase five packs of cigarettes. The owner became suspicious when the man attempted to use one gift card to purchase the cigarettes and then asked to purchase another five packs on another transaction, the police report said.

The gas station’s system was showing different information than what the card showed, and the owner asked the man for more information, police said. The man then grabbed the cigarettes and left the store, getting into a car with another person and a child, police said. The vehicle was stopped near Main Street in Greenwood on Interstate 65.

Police found Taylor had several receipts in his pockets with additional card numbers and a handwritten note with instructions and contacts to purchase 100 cards for $1,000, the report said.

Inside the car, police found 834 packs of cigarettes, as well as 40 gift or credit cards. Receipts with the cigarettes showed purchases in several Indiana counties, including Boone, Jackson and Tippecanoe, as well as Louisville, Kentucky.

Detectives found that 37 of the cards did not match the number printed on the cards, police said.

Jail officials said Taylor is being held without bond in the Shelby County Jail, and Turner has been released.