Discount Store Owners Charged With Fraud
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A group of small business owners is behind bars after Miami-Dade police broke up what they call a major fraud ring.
On Wednesday, 12 of the 14 people arrested during the course of the investigation appeared in bond court. All have been charged with Grand Theft, Racketeering, Money Laundering, Organized Fraud and multiple counts of Fraudulent Use Of Identification.
Bond was set at $880,000 for nine of the men. One of the men, Jimmy Ariel Suros Corzo of Alkazar Discount, was given a bond amount of $1.5 million. One of those charged, Diana Cardero, was released on her own recognizance as part of a deal she struck with the state. Cardero, however, was forced to turn over her passport.
Cardero's grandparents told CBS4's Gio Benitez that she's innocent. They called her a smart girl who has a full scholarship to a state university.
A group of small business owners is behind bars after Miami-Dade police broke up what they call a major fraud ring.
On Wednesday, 12 of the 14 people arrested during the course of the investigation appeared in bond court. All have been charged with Grand Theft, Racketeering, Money Laundering, Organized Fraud and multiple counts of Fraudulent Use Of Identification.
Bond was set at $880,000 for nine of the men. One of the men, Jimmy Ariel Suros Corzo of Alkazar Discount, was given a bond amount of $1.5 million. One of those charged, Diana Cardero, was released on her own recognizance as part of a deal she struck with the state. Cardero, however, was forced to turn over her passport.
Cardero's grandparents told CBS4's Gio Benitez that she's innocent. They called her a smart girl who has a full scholarship to a state university.
Click Here to see a mugshot gallery of those arrested in bust
According to arrest warrant, the business owners hired runners to purchase Wal-Mart gift cards using stolen credit cards. The gift cards were then used at a Sam's Club in Doral to purchase liquor and cigarettes, among other items, which they sold at their discount dollar or convenience stores.
"The organized group used approximately 56,873 fraudulently purchased Walmart store value gift cards at Sam's Club to fraudulently purchase goods totaling approx. $13 million," according to the arrest affidavit.
The fraud occurred from January 2010 through April 2012, according to investigators.
