Five charged in fraud scheme which included offenses in Vegreville
RCMP Southern Alberta District Crime Reduction Unit (SAD CRU), in partnership with Raymond RCMP and the Western Canada Lottery Corporation, took over a crime series involving a technique called the “Manual Entry Transaction Fraud”. The crime series targeted small business convenience stores between Dec. 31, 2023 and Feb. 26, 2024.
The manual entry credit card scam is conducted as follows:
Suspect(s) enter the retailer and request $5,000.00 in Sports Select and $1,000.00 in Keno (max sales limit in 24-hour period).
Suspect(s) will request Credit Card payment and will then see if the terminal will allow for manual entry. If it does, they enter a memorized Mastercard credit card number that does not match the card entered.
The transaction will go through as approved, but since the actual credit card is not present at the time of purchase in the machine itself, the bank will (upon notification of the card holder dispute) reverse the charges and charge back the retailer.
This does not happen right away and can take several weeks.
Suspect(s), upon realizing that the retailer’s terminal will allow for manual entry, will purchase additional prepaid credit cards and gift cards along with scratch and win tickets.
Most retailers have admitted that the transactions seemed unusual but proceeded to sell to the suspect(s) until a call is placed by the Western Canada Lottery Corporation to the retailer to inquire on the payment made on these purchases.
On March 19, 2024, SAD CRU executed a search warrant in the 2000 block of 34 Street SW, Calgary. As a result of the investigation, the following were charged for offences that occurred in Raymond, Lethbridge, Vegreville, Two Hills, and Sundre.
Jay Obrador (AGE), and Maynard Go Recibio (AGE), both residents of Calgary, were charged with:
- Fraud Over $5000
- Possess or Traffic in Credit Card Data
- Laundering Proceeds of Crime
Melody Velasquez (AGE), Jessica Nyome Vinje (AGE), Angelo Ross Diaz (AGE), and Rommel Manansala Togado (AGE), all residents of Calgary, were charged with:
- Fraud Over $5000
- Possess or Traffic in Credit Card Data
Jay Obrador will be appearing in Alberta Court of Justice in Lethbridge on April 24, 2024. The five other accused are currently on warrant status.
Cpl. Gina Slaney
Public Information Officer – SAD
