US men jailed for 1½ years for credit-card fraud

CNS: Three American men, Dave Obaseki, Michael Capers and Sean Luke, who recently pleaded guilty to using stolen credit card details to fraudulently purchase 73 items on Grand Cayman have each been sentenced to 18 months in jail. The affected businesses have either had seized items returned or compensation orders granted, the RCIPS said.

The men, aged 32, 32, and 33, were arrested on Tuesday, 19 March, after making suspected fraudulent credit card purchases totalling over CI$50,000 in value. They were later charged with three counts each of obtaining property by deception.

After their arrest, the police searched the premises where the men were located and seized several items, including expensive jewellery, perfumes, and electronics such as iPads and iPhones.

The conviction and sentencing of the men follows a multi-faceted investigation led by the RCIPS Financial Crime Investigation Unit (FCIU), which involved coordinating with international partners to identify overseas victims whose credit card details were among those stolen.

“We would like to give a special thank you to everyone who assisted in this investigation, from our international partners to the front-line officers who responded to the initial report, to our colleagues in the Digital Forensics Hub and the Cayman Islands Bureau of Financial Investigations,” said Detective Sergeant Nevron Bradshaw of the FCIU.

“We are especially thankful to the staff of the affected businesses, who willingly cooperated with us and provided essential evidence. Their assistance was crucial in allowing us to progress the investigation quickly so that charges could be laid in a timely manner and with such strong supporting evidence as to result in guilty pleas. This result sends a message that such activity will not be tolerated in the Cayman Islands,” he added.