Two men arrested in Florida for $2,700 EBT fraud at Sam's Club in Doral

Two South Florida men face fraud charges after using compromised EBT cards to buy 70 cans of Spam and other goods. They were caught during a surveillance operation at a Doral Sam's Club.

Doral Sam's Club fraud bust: 70 Spam cans and $2,700 in stolen benefits

Two South Florida men were arrested Monday after allegedly spending over $2,700 at a Sam's Club in Doral using compromised public assistance accounts, nbcmiami.com reports.

Myrthland Ince, 33, and Romario Stewart, 32, both of Hallandale Beach, each face 10 counts of fraudulent use of identification, along with grand theft and public assistance fraud charges, according to Miami-Dade jail records.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office Organized Retail Crimes Squad had been working alongside Walmart Global Investigations on a broader probe into the fraudulent use of compromised Florida Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) accounts and NationsBenefits accounts. Investigators had identified multiple suspects targeting Sam's Club and Walmart locations across South Florida to buy large quantities of perishable and resaleable goods.

On Monday, detectives conducting surveillance at the Sam's Club at 8425 Northwest 13th Terrace in Doral observed Stewart and Ince purchase 70 cans of Spam, 20 Tide liquid detergents, 18 units of Cafe Bustelo coffee and one container of Member's Mark cashews. The pair paid at self-checkout using 10 different NationsBenefits cards linked to compromised accounts belonging to other individuals.

As the two men left the store, authorities detained them. Ince was found carrying six debit cards re-encoded with NationsBenefits account numbers; Stewart had four such cards on his person.

Both appeared before a judge on Tuesday, who ordered them to stay away from all Sam's Club and Walmart stores in Miami-Dade County. Ince's bond was set at $30,000 and Stewart's at $50,000.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)