Houghton PD investigating credit card scam
HOUGHTON — Two Ohio residents are lodged in the Houghton County Jail after allegedly buying items in Houghton as part of a larger-scale operation involving purchases with stolen credit cards that has been targeting towns throughout the Midwest.
On Nov. 7, the Houghton Police Department received a report of two suspicious people purchasing lottery tickets and high-end alcohol at a business in Houghton, the police department said in a news release. After getting a description of their vehicle, a Michigan State Police trooper from the Iron Mountain Post was able to stop the vehicle in Iron River.
Shiym Edwards, 28, faces a felony charge of illegal use of a financial transaction device, lodged at the Houghton County Jail on a $50,000 cash or surety bond. That count is enhanced by a habitual offender – fourth offense notice.
Destiny Johnson, 25, has the same illegal use charge, paired with a habitual offender notice for a second offense.
Edwards’ bond was set at $50,000 cash or surety, and Johnson’s at $25,000. Their preliminary hearing is set for Monday.
Investigating revealed links to other cases, the police department said. Edwards is wanted on similar charges in Midland, Michigan, involving using stolen credit cards to purchase lottery tickets. Johnson is facing similar charges in Wright County, Minnesota.
The investigation has shown that a larger scale operation is taking place out of Akron, Ohio, involving several people using stolen credit cards to purchase lotto tickets in several states, Houghton police said in the release.
The Houghton Police Department received a similar complaint about stolen credit cards as far back as March. On Saturday, Baraga County reported an incident of two suspicious males wearing M-95 masks purchasing a large amount of lottery tickets. The Ishpeming, Marquette and Munising areas have all reported similar incidents involving stolen credit cards being used to purchase lottery tickets and alcohol.
Anyone with information about similar incidents is asked to contact their local law enforcement authority. If anyone can obtain information on the identity of the individuals or are able to get a license plate number from the suspect vehicle, it would be extremely helpful.
Police are asking for businesses that sell lottery tickets to ask for identification when people use credit cards to make their purchase, especially in large amounts. Also, be aware of people that attempt to enter credit card information manually into the stores’ point of sale when making these types of purchases.
This case remains under investigation.