Eagan police found 79 cloned credit cards after stopping a pair of East Coast residents last week following reports of fraudulent activity at a nearby business, according to charges filed Tuesday in Dakota County.
Arion Sabine Anis, 24, of Brentwood, N.Y., and Hasohn Jamal Douglas, 20, of Fort Washington, Md., have each been charged with felony identity theft after their June 25 arrest.
An employee at an Eagan store called police when Anis and Douglas bought several gift cards using different credit cards, according to the charges. After several purchases totaling more than $232, both Anis and Douglas had transactions declined. When Douglas opened his wallet, the charges say, the employee noticed he had about 30 different credit cards.
The employee provided a physical description and partial license plate number of their rental car, and an Eagan officer stopped them on a nearby city street. The officer saw numerous gift cards in plain sight on the car's floorboard and later found two bags of $25 Visa cards in their original packaging, the charges said.
A detective confirmed that the seized credit cards were fraudulent and had 25 different names listed on the front of the cards. Police have so far reached at least eight people, including an Eagan resident, who confirmed fraudulent charges on their bank statements, the charges said.
Stephen Montemayor • 952-746-3282
