14 DAY TRIAL // Items found in a suitcase lost at an airport helped authorities uncover a credit-card fraud operation and identify the people responsible for instrumenting it. The owner of the misplaced luggage made the mistake of calling back and asking about it.
According to The Sacramento Bee, U.S. Attorney Lawrence Brown and Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness announced on Friday in a joint statement that Joseph Hatfield, 27, and Jahmeelah Sullins, 22, both of Sacramento, California, had been indicted for instrumenting a credit-card fraud scheme. Both face charges of conspiracy to commit and committing access-device fraud.
The illegal operation was discovered due to a suitcase belonging to Hatfield, which got lost at the Sacramento International Airport back in February. When Southwest Airlines workers recovered the unclaimed luggage and opened it up, they discovered a device for reading and writing credit cards inside, along with multiple such cards.
After being informed, the authorities started an investigation and determined that the credit cards found were cloned and were used to acquire merchandise and gift cards from stores in Sacramento, Texas, Florida and other places. The suitcase also contained a counterfeit driver's license in the name of one Adam Constant.
The break came when Hatfield called back at the airport to ask about a lost, black suitcase that matched the description of the one the authorities had. According to The Register, detectives from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office matched Hatfield's photo obtained from DMV records with the one on the fake license.
A subsequent search of his home revealed even evidence, in the form of over 100 cloned credit cards. Both defendants face up to ten years for the access-device fraud-related charges, while Hatfield risks an additional fifteen years for possession of device-making equipment.
The investigation was a joint effort of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, the Sacramento Valley Hi Tech Crimes Task Force and the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin R. Taylor is prosecuting the case.