A traffic stop on Interstate 84 late Wednesday night led to the arrest of a Las Vegas man on charges of identity theft after an Oregon State Police trooper discovered 59 fraudulent credit cards in the trunk of the suspect’s car.
According to the OSP, all of the fraudulent credit cards had the magnetic strip on the back of the card re-coded with stolen account information from 59 different victims. The follow-up investigation indicates the fraudulent credit card scheme involves stealing actual account information from victims and then re-coding that information on back of the card with the victim’s real account information placed onto the magnetic strip. Once the fraudulent credit card is re-coded with the unknown victim’s real account information, the card is used to quickly spend as much money as possible from the account using the fraudulent card until the credit card company suspends the card’s use.
Echavarria-Perez was arrested and lodged in Baker County Jail in lieu of full bail for $142,500. He was charged with aggravated identity theft (a Class B felony), five counts of identity theft (a Class C felony), and five counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument.
The OSP investigation is continuing with help from the Baker County District Attorney’s Office, Portland Police Bureau, Las Vegas Metro Police Department, and U.S. Secret Service to identify each victim and involved financial institutions.
A Baker County Circuit Court judge directed a hearing being held prior to release of the suspect on full bail.
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