Fraud suspects see charges reduced, but not bail

Djeffry Louis

Deval Rhodes

 ROCHESTER - Two New York men charged in connection with an alleged credit card scam at the Lilac Mall last week had their probable cause hearing Wednesday at Rochester District Court, and while many of their charges were reduced or tossed out, their high cash bail remains in effect.

Deval Rhodes, 22, of Elmont, N.Y., who had been charged with felony forgery, saw both charges dropped to Class A misdemeanors. Rhodes will also face a misdemeanor charge on marijuana possession during a March trial. Probable cause for his felony receiving stolen property charge, however, was not found.

Djeffry Louis, 20, of Rosedale, N.Y., meanwhile, saw his felony cocaine possession charge bound over to Superior Court where he faces possible indictment by a grand jury next month. Probable cause for Louis’ receiving stolen property charge was also not found.

Police were tipped off about the duo Jan. 13 after a Hannaford’s employee reported two men had bought $400 worth of gift cards, then returned moments later and tried to buy another $800 in gift cards, but that the second credit card was declined. They then tried to make the purchase with a third card, but that also declined, testified Rochester Det. Sgt. Anthony Deluca on Wednesday.

The men reportedly went and bought or attempted to buy gift cards at several stores in the Lilac Mall as well as stopping to buy baby formula and Newport cigarettes at a Rochester CVS drug store, where they also allegedly used a bogus card.

The duo were ultimately arrested outside Pet Paradise.

Deluca said that when he asked Louis what he was doing in the Rochester area, he told him he had “come up with friends to party and go to clubs” and told police he was staying at a hotel in Portsmouth.

Deluca stated the two men had close to 130 gift cards between them, including Home Depot and American Express.

He said they also had in their possession many cards on which information stored on the magnetic strip on the back of the card did not match the embossed information on the front.

He said it is suspected that the bogus credit card scheme begins with a computer hacker who is able to secure legitimate card numbers over the Internet. The information can then be loaded onto any card that has a magnetic strip, even a hotel key card, he said. He said the cards go from the hacker through middlemen to criminals attempting to profit from them on the street.

He said Louis and Rhodes admitted the cards were theirs and permitted police to search them, their vehicle and a lockbox inside their car. The lockbox was also full of cards, said Deluca, who added Strafford County jail guards booking the pair found another card under Louis’ scrotum under his underwear.

Defense attorneys sought to distance their clients from each other and the counterfeit cards, saying prosecutors hadn’t confirmed they weren’t in fact theirs.

They also questioned a field test that showed positive for cocaine in connection with a substance found in Louis' possession.

County prosecutors countered that the pair had acted in concert and that on the basis of totality of evidence the case should move forward to trial.

Even though their charges were to a large degree reduced or tossed out, their high cash bail of $50,000 cash was continued.

Another pair of New York men arrested in a similar case that allegedly occurred at Rochester Crossings earlier this month had their cases bound over to Superior Court last week.