Cuban Gangs Dominating the news - Cuban ORC gang busted hitting Sam's Club for $71k - re-encoding credit cards in 6 states - Busted in Kentucky  Two Cuban nationals who were arrested last week outside Sam's Club on suspicion of buying items with fraudulent membership cards are believed to have made more than $71,000 worth of purchases in six states using fraudulent membership cards and re-encoded credit cards, according to documents filed Friday in federal court. Noslen Hernandez Guerra, 28, and Julio Perez Simon, 30, were arrested Feb. 19 by the Kentucky State Police and charged initially with theft of identity and engaging in organized crime. Criminal complaints against both men filed Friday in U.S. District Court by a U.S. Secret Service special agent reveal an apparent weeklong spree of fraudulent activity tied to the two men. Wasson met with an asset protection manager at Sam's Club to review the transaction and learned that the membership identification number associated with the reported charge was linked to an account that was opened Feb. 11 and on which a total of $55,804.94 purchases were made. A purchase at a Nicholasville Sam's Club on Feb. 18 was also tied to that account. On Feb. 20 police obtained a search warrant and found gift cards were believed to total about $10,000, and other items. Most of the credit card numbers on the seized re-encoded cards were from MasterCard accounts and re-encoded onto Visa gift cards, the complaint shows. Trent Peebles, senior global investigator for Wal-Mart and Sam's Club, found that one membership was used to make $57,005.90 of purchases associated with re-encoded credit cards in Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee, according to the criminal complaint. That was in increase in the amount of what was first suspected as being spent. "The total amount of fraudulent purchases associated with all three of the memberships used was $71,884.70," the complaint read. Editor's Note: Just this past Friday we posted an article about a Cuban gang stealing tractor-trailers in Roanoke, Va., that is believed to have been operating up and down the East Coast and another rather extensive article published in the Sun Sentinel last week in Florida about how Cuban gangs travel back and forth to the states. bgdailynews.com

Tucson PD bust ORC couple who had been targeting stores for months - hitting Macy's, Dillard's and Walmart  According to local law enforcement, the couple would steal designer purses and shoes to feed a drug habit. Amelia Gordon was arrested at a traffic stop about two weeks ago. She was caught on a surveillance video stealing items from a Walmart store. Her boyfriend, Richard Jesse Garcia, ran from police during the traffic stop. It's an abundance of clothes, shoes, purses, jewelry, colognes; whatever items they could steal from different businesses," said Ramirez. "I have a dollar amount of money that they received, which was $3,000 within an eight week course," said Ramirez. According to Ramirez, she received a tip about the couple from one of the merchants of the retail theft monthly meeting. Gordon and Garcia were both indicted this week, with a dozen charges that include trafficking in stolen property, organize retail theft, fraud and robbery.  kvoa.com

Best Buy ORC duo - male suspect pleads guilty to criminal enterprise - two counts of ORC - $50k to $100k thefts  Per the plea agreement, if Fernandez-Igua can pay $4,036.04 by the time of his sentencing April 20, a count of false pretenses of $50,000 to $100,000 would be added at sentencing. One count of organized crime, one count of first-degree retail fraud and conducting a criminal enterprise would be dismissed. Keyes said the $4,036.04 represents the value of the property stolen by Fernandez-Igua from the Fort Gratiot Best Buy on June 8. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers said they found dozens of unopened consumer electronics when they searched Fernandez-Igua's vehicle at the Blue Water Bridge in late September. Authorities believed the items were stolen from Best Buy in Fort Gratiot. Monica Evangelista-Laos, 31, is a co-defendant with Fernandez-Igua. According to court records, a warrant was issued for the New Jersey woman on charges similar to Fernandez-Igua's. privateofficer.org

Colorado Springs Man Arrested for 8 thefts and multiple assaults on Loss Prevention Agents  Colorado Springs Police have arrested 23-year-old Eric Garcia for what they say is a city-wide crime pattern. Police say Garcia, along with other accomplices, would steal high-end electronics and tools from several local retail box stores. Detectives also say if he was caught at one of the stores, he would assault the loss prevention members and escape. Garcia was arrested on Friday (2/27/15), at the Howard Johnson Lodge, where he also tried to escape. Police had a surveillance team set up at the motel, but when officers moved in to make the arrest, Garcia tried to get away. A K-9 Unit was sent in, and Garcia was eventually taken into custody and transported to the hospital for medical treatment. Police say Garcia is suspected of being involved in 8 theft cases so far. krdo.com

Three male teenagers charged with ORC after hitting Woodlands Macy's for $400