Feds: Raleigh man used stolen credit cards buying cigarettes - selling on black market  Raleigh man was sentenced to 42 months in prison for his role in a scheme that used stolen credit card account information to purchase and resell thousands of cigarettes. Prosecutors say scheme participants encoded stolen credit card data onto cards with magnetic strips, creating what appeared to be legitimate gift cards. Managers, including Raleigh's Ibrahim Barrie, who was charged with aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit access device fraud, distributed the cards to "runners," who traveled to various gas stations, convenience stores and other stores across North Carolina to purchase cartons of cigarettes, according to prosecutors. Barrie and other unnamed schemers took trips to New York to sell the cigarettes on the black market for cash, according to court documents. Barrie lived in Raleigh, but is a citizen of Sierra Leone.  bizjournals.com

Tampa man gets nearly 6 years for running credit card fraud ring & Wiring money to Ukraine & Russia  Hernandez-Cabrales and Ricardo Romero-Mesa used stolen credit and debit card accounts to generate counterfeit credit cards, which they would use to buy hundreds of Visa gift cards, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. They would use the gift cards to buy items at home improvement stores and then return those items for cash. Hernandez-Cabrales and Romero-Mesa bought the stolen account numbers, many of which came from Navy Federal Credit Union and Armed Forces Bank, from a website in Eastern Europe. The men also installed skimmers at gas pumps to steal account numbers, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Investigators found 200 gift cards, credit cards and hotel room keys, which were re-encoded with credit and debit card account numbers. Agents also found computers, receipts for returns, high-end purses and clothing, and receipts for wire transfers to Ukraine. The men wired more than $23,545 to Ukraine and Russia for at least 800 stolen account numbers, investigators said. When Hernandez-Cabrales was arrested in August, authorities found credit cards, a gas pump key and a credit card re-encoder in his home.  tbo.com

Traverse City, MI Police investigating $15,000 Car Parts Purchased with Stolen Credit Card  Someone overseas bought thousands of dollars of car parts from a Northern Michigan dealership. But the credit card that person used was stolen. Police say a woman from Uganda was buying car parts from Bill Marsh in Traverse City, using a stolen credit card from California. A Traverse City man -- who the woman met online -- would then pick up the parts and put them in a storage unit on Cass Road. The purchases totaled about $15,000. Items stolen included tires, headlamps and tail lamp assemblies. Bill Marsh employees say the woman used three different credit cards over a three week period. She bought everything over the phone. 9and10news.com

San Antonio man arrested in connection with 2 Jewelry store thefts
San Antonio Police said they arrested a suspect who they say stole jewelry from two different stores. According to the suspect's arrest warrant, Fernando Jimenez, 28, confessed to thefts because he wanted to satisfy a heroin addiction. Jimenez allegedly stole jewelry from Kay Jewelers and James Avery on different occasions. Investigators said Jimenez was caught on surveillance video at one of the stores and an employee recognized him when he went into the store a week after another theft. Police found records where Jimenez pawned two rings from the thefts. kens5.com

Man charged with stealing vacuum cleaners from Target store in Ulster, NY
A Stanfordville man has been charged with stealing vacuum cleaners from the Target store in Hudson Valley Mall on more than one occasion in the past several days, state police said Monday. Bruce M. Williamson, 23, was arrested by State Police. On Thursday, troopers investigated the reported theft of two Dyson vacuums from Target and found Williams had entered the store and removed the electronic security devices from the units, valued at a total of $1,049.48, and left the store without paying for them. Further investigation revealed Williamson returned to the same store on Saturday, removed a security tag from a third vacuum, valued at $499.99, and stole it, too. dailyfreeman.com

Fort Wayne, IN Police needs help in finding person of interest in Lowe's thefts  A Lowe's loss prevention officer said on three separate occasions a male white, around age 40, had taken items from the Illinois and Lima roads stores. On Dec. 13, the man is alleged to have gone into the Lowe's on Illinois and taken a DeWalt combo tool kit valued at $299. He also is alleged to have gone into Lowe's on Lima twice. The first time was on Dec. 17, and the second was on Dec. 22. The man took another DeWalt combo kit and a Husqvarna chainsaw worth $399.00 from there. news-sentinel.com


JC Penney in Murfreesboro, TN nab a shoplifter with 14 bottles of cologne
Suspect Lionel L. Allen reportedly stole 14-bottles of men's cologne at the JC Penney Store in the Stones River Mall. Allen allegedly concealed the cologne in his jacket and then attempted to leave the store. An employee in the store told police that Allen is a suspect in two earlier cologne thefts as well. Additional charges could be filed. At this time, Allen has only been charged with theft over $1,000 and theft over $500 times two. wgnsradio.com