James Davis, 31, is accused of using a skimming device to steal the credit card information while he was working as a waiter at the Cheesecake Factory restaurant in White Plains in late 2008. Davis was charged with 11 counts of grand larceny in the fourth degree and 11 counts of unlawful possession of personal identification information in the third degree, felonies, and one count of scheme to defraud, a misdemeanor.
Davis was also found in possession of several small bags of cocaine when he was arrested. An additional charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, a felony, is pending.
The investigation into Davis began in January 2009 when the U.S. Secret Service contacted county police about suspicious transactions involving credit card information that was stolen in Westchester. The credit card information was used to make unauthorized online purchases from Best Buy and AT&T.
Detective Ted Polant of the county police General Investigations Unit subsequently determined that the Westchester victims had all dined at the same restaurant in White Plains. Davis, who was a waiter there, was identified as a suspect in the thefts but he resigned before the investigation was complete. County police have been looking for him since early 2009.
Polant recently developed information that Davis would be meeting someone on East 161st Street in the Bronx on Thursday morning. Davis was taken into custody there.
County police believe that Davis did not make the unauthorized purchases himself, but sold the information to others who committed those frauds. The investigation is continuing.
Davis was arraigned Thursday afternoon in White Plains City Court and is being held in lieu of $5,000 bail at the Westchester County Jail in Valhalla.
No comments:
Post a Comment