AMBRIDGE, Pa. — A woman living in Texas helped crack the case of an elaborate credit card scheme that led to the arrest of three men in Ambridge, authorities told Channel 11 News on Thursday.
Ambridge police said the three men - Denard Burton, Isaiah Levye and Keith Harvey - stole the identity and credit card numbers of numerous people and used them to create more than 50 fake credit cards. The men bought a variety of items, including hundreds of gift cards, iPhones and gaming systems, with the fake cards.
Ambridge police officers caught up with the men this week at a Rite Aid on Merchant Street.
“Two guys alternated going into the Rite Aid using sham credit cards, and in a matter of 20 minutes, they purchased $11,000 in gift cards,” Ambridge Police Chief Jim Mann said.
Mann said the card the men were using to purchase the gift cards was registered with a security firm, which contacted the card's owner, a woman in Texas. The woman immediately contacted Rite Aid, and officers moved in.
Police said Ambridge wasn’t the men’s only target, saying they had hit stores all over Beaver County and some in Allegheny County.
“This is a sophisticated, elaborate operation. We don't know how these three fit in. We know it's much bigger than Ambridge,” Mann said.
Mann said he expects many other departments to call the Ambridge Police Department with reports of similar incidents.
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