Delco trio charged in counterfeit scheme
A Chester city police officer on a routine call hit the jackpot when he found all the equipment needed to manufacture counterfeit credit cards and checks.
A Chester city police officer on a routine call hit the jackpot when he found all the equipment needed to manufacture counterfeit credit cards and checks.
That discovery in an empty apartment in May resulted in charges of theft and related offenses announced today against Kevin Wilmer Henson, 36, Donald Mewha, 59, both of the 1300 block of Renshaw Road and Ylana Starks, 30, of 1100 block of Clover Lane.
"Immediately, it was obvious that the apartment contained a fraudulent credit card and fraudulent check production operation," said G. Michael Green, Delaware County District Attorney. It was the fourth such operation his department has encountered since the beginning of the year, he said.
The cards, with stolen numbers, allegedly were used to purchase home and garden supplies, fencing, fishing equipment and air conditioners. The information on the cards was for legitimate accounts that belong to various individuals, Green said. He would not specify how the numbers were stolen.
The three spent more than $4,000 using one account number stolen from a victim in Kentucky.
Police found more than 400 legitimate credit card numbers, over 50 ready-to-use credit cards, 2,600 blank credit cards, 2,500 blank check stock, Green said. They also found one counterfeit $100 bill.
Chester Police Sgt. John Gretsky went to escort an apartment building manager as she changed the locks on an empty unit, May 6 in the 1300 block of Renshaw Road, according to documents. They found a computer, printers, embosser, a credit card scanner, boxes of blank checks, foil and holograms and other supplies used to make photo identification cards.
That day in the apartment police also found IRS mail sent to Henson, addressed to the 1100 block of Clover Lane. They then went to that Clover Lane home where they found Mewha who told them he used a fraudulent credit card given to him by Henson to buy more than $1,000 in merchandise from Home Depot, according to court documents.
On May 8, Starks called police to the Clover Lane home to report her "very big" gas grill was stolen from her backyard, along with sections of vinyl fencing.
Mewha bought these items by using stolen credit card information, according to court documents.
"If you are stealing something don't report it stolen," Green said.
At 6:35 a.m. May 29, police searched the Clover Lane address. In the master bedroom, they found a pair of men's jeans - complete with the underwear - on the floor next to the bed. Starks told police Henson was not in the home and said she did not know who owned the jeans.
Police were setting up a ladder to search the attic through a hole in the ceiling of the second floor hallway when Henson called out. A naked Henson climbed down a fire department ladder and into police custody, according to court documents.
"He was clearly at home and felt comfortable," Green said.
