Inmate Debit Card Scam: Hardee's Employees and Others Face Serious Charges

 


In LaPorte County, a sneaky incident went down involving jail inmates, Hardee's restaurant workers, and a group of people scheming together. Here's the lowdown from the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office.


The jail boss noticed that inmates were getting a suspiciously large amount of cash into their communication accounts. Even weirder, these same inmates were using that cash to bail out of jail, and they were getting jail debit cards when they left.

So, Captain Andy Hynek decided to dig deep. 

What he found was a real head-scratcher. Turns out, a bunch of folks working at a Hardee's in Michigan City and some other people were in on this complex scheme. 

In August and September, a few Hardee's employees snapped pics of drive-thru customers' credit and debit cards. Then, they swiped those card numbers and stuffed cash into the communication accounts of inmates who didn't need a lot of money to bond out.


Here's where it gets wild: These inmates bonded out quick using the shady funds in their Securus accounts. Then, they hopped over to ATMs and emptied the remaining dough on those jail debit cards. 

The result? About $15,000 swiped from innocent customers. The folks whose card numbers got nabbed are now teaming up with their banks to try and get their money back.

The sheriff's office is not havin' it. They issued serious felony arrest warrants for ten people involved in this scam. Five of 'em are in hot water for fraud and criminal organizational activity:
- Prince C. Arnold
- Anisa C. Higginbitham
- Kristin R. Vanschoyck
- Darrien R. Ward
- Madison M. Zuk

The other five are facing charges of conspiracy to commit fraud and criminal organizational activity:
- Lawrence Armstrong
- Carissa A. Bealor
- Hollie D. LaChapelle
- Moesha Monique Savanna Payne
- Dylnn V. Scott

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