SEATTLE – Three people are charged in an alleged identity theft ring, skimming credit and debit card information from fast food customers at a Tukwila Wendy's restaurant.
Maria Elena DeHoyos-Ortiz, 33, Linzy Jerome Hopkins, 27, and Ricardo Ricky Ramacho, II, 28, are charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to commit identity theft. King County Sheriff's Detectives say they compromised at least 135 accounts to the tune of approximately $75,000, and that number could grow.
"First, they ran a $27 amount and then two minutes later it was $327, and it put me overdraft," said Gloria, one of the fraud victims who asked that we not give her full name.
In probable cause documents, detectives say an investigator at Boeing Employee's Credit Union noticed several of the bank's customers were showing fraudulent activity. The investigator identified the Wendy's restaurant at 15010 International Boulevard as the likely place where the accounts were compromised.
Detectives believe DeHoyos-Ortiz, an employee at the restaurant, used a handheld credit card skimmer to steal the information while she was at work. The alleged skimming happened between Sept. 14, 2009 and July 21, 2010.
Court documents say Wendy's requires employees to include their employee ID number for each sale. Of the customer cards that were counterfeited, detectives say DeHoyos Ortiz' ID number was used in every transaction.
DeHoyos-Ortiz, Hopkins and Ramacho allegedly used the information to make purchases. Detectives say the fraudulent purchases were often made months after the skimming happened, in order to throw police off the suspects' trail.
Detectives say they have surveillance video from several retailers showing the suspects making transactions using the stolen card numbers.
After arresting DeHoyos-Ortiz at work, detective searched two homes and three vehicles linked to the suspects. They allegedly found two card skimmers, a card reader/encoder, credit card stock, gift cards, a computer and numerous Playstation gaming systems.
Several credit and gift cards were confiscated. Detectives say in most cases, none of the numbers encoded on the magnetic stripe matched the numbers on the front of the cards. Detectives say there were able to link some of the cards back to the list of cards run by DeHoyos Ortiz.
Arraignment is scheduled for August 5.
KING 5 went to DeHoyos-Ortiz' home Wednesday. A woman who answered the door said she was unaware that DeHoyos-Ortiz, the mother of two young children, was involved.
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