Authorities catch two men with hundreds of cloned credit cards and thousands in merchandise. The Nebraska State Patrol and FBI are investigating this case, and still are trying to answer many questions.
Richard Garcia-Garcia, 27, and Ralph Alvarez-Cespedes, 27, are believed to be part of a crime that crosses the country defrauding people out of hard earned money. Both are charged with one count of conspiracy and are being held on $1 million bond each at the Douglas County Jail.
The men are arrested in rental cars at Eppley Airfield January 28 by the NE State Patrol. On them, they find 240 cloned credit cards, fake driver's licenses from Florida, Texas, and Ohio, and thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.
"They're in rental cars, they have fake ID's, they're not from here. It certainly appears there's a scam going on which might be a little bit of a complex conspiracy,” Douglas Co. Attorney Don Kleine explains.
The men are from Cuba but living in Miami. Prosecutors say they were buying items with the stolen credit cards and having them shipped back to Miami.
They asked for the high bond, so NSP and the FBI could figure out where they got the cards from and how they got the stolen numbers.
In court using a translator, Garcia-Garcia told the judge, "They're accusing me like I'm a terrorist."
Jim Hegarty, President of the Better Business Bureau of NE says there are many forms of identity theft that, many times, are impossible for consumers to know if you've been hacked.
“So it's difficult to defend yourself against this that's why I think the best defense is just to be a really effective monitor of your own financial accounts," Hegarty described.
Hegarty says you can also pay a company to monitor your accounts for fraudulent activity.
Garcia-Garcia and Alvarez-Cespedes are due back in court in March. Both declined KMTV’s interview requests.
Depending on what the investigation reveals they could face federal charges also.
