A pair of Kane County Sheriff’s Office traffic stops has led to charges filed against six Florida residents for possession of more than 700 fake credit and gift cards.

According to a Kane County Sheriff’s Office press release issued Thursday afternoon, sheriff’s deputies stopped a Dodge Journey on Orchard Road near Sullivan Road in Aurora at around 2:50 p.m. Monday, June 1.

During the stop, deputies discovered that the driver, Yuskel Ruiz-Lorenzo, 30, did not have a valid driver’s license. Deputies searched the vehicle and located fraudulent Ohio driver’s licenses for Ruiz-Lorenzo and his passenger, Dairon Ferrerr-Marquez, 25, as well as “several fake credit cards and pre-paid gift cards,” the press release said.

Deputies learned that the two were staying at a nearby Hampton Inn, and Ruiz-Lorenzo and Ferrerr-Marquez agreed to allow deputies to search their room, where deputies located about 200 additional fake credit and gift cards.

At around 7:10 p.m. on the same day, deputies made a traffic stop of a vehicle carrying four people in the parking lot of the Comfort Suites, 111 N. Broadway in Aurora. As in the first traffic stop, deputies located “several fake credit cards and pre-paid gift cards” and secured search warrants for two hotel rooms at the Comfort Suites.

Inside the rooms, deputies located more than 500 additional ersatz credit cards and pre-paid gift cards.

Ruiz-Lorenzo, whose residence was later identified as Homestead, FL, and Ferrerr-Marquez of Miami, FL, each were charged with the following:

• One count of possession of a counterfeit debit/credit card-a Class 3 felony.
• One count of altering a debit/credit card, a Class 4 felony.
• One count of possession of a fraudulent identification with the intent to commit another violation of the law, a Class 4 felony.

The occupants of the second vehicle were identified as Mercedes Gregorio-Morffy, 43, of Hialeah Gardens, FL; Luis Jimenez-Gonzalez, 25, of Opa Locka, FL; Yaniris Alfonso, 29, of Miami, FL; and Ranset Rodriguez-Martinez, 27, of Miami, FL. Each were charged with the following:

• One count possession of a counterfeit debit/credit card, a Class 3 felony
• One count Altering a debit/credit card, a Class 4 felony

Local victims have been identified, the press release said, and deputies are not looking for any victims relating to this investigation.

“If you think you may have been a victim of credit card fraud or identity theft, please report this to your local law enforcement agency,” said Lt. Pat Gengler, Kane County Sheriff’s Office director of administration.

More information on what to do if you think you are a victim of this type of a crime can be found at the U.S. Secret Service website.

The charges against the six subjects are not proof of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the state’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

SOURCE: Kane County Sheriff’s Office press release