The Mt. Pleasant Police Department recently concluded a several month long investigation into a credit card fraud scheme, which resulted in charges for eight individuals from Louisville, Kentucky. According to the police department, the group used forged credit cards obtained using devices called skimmers. Skimmers are electronic devices placed on card readers, such as those on gas pumps, and capture credit card information to be placed on blank cards. Several of the skimmers were placed on gas pumps in the Mt. Pleasant area, and the group used the forged cards at numerous stores across Iowa in a three-day spree in September. The total amount of losses in the Mt. Pleasant area was over $30,000. The authorities remind people to check credit card readers before using them, and if anything seems off, inform the store or a local police department.

The Mt. Pleasant Police Department worked alongside the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office, the Waverly Police Department, and the Louisville, Kentucky Police Department on the case. They were able to identify and charge the perpetrators of the scheme, which include 26-year-old Pedro Rodriguez, 26-year-old Liliany Mena, 48-year-old Rolando Gonzalez, 46-year-old Rosa Perez Batista, 32-year-old Gerardo Perez, 30-year-old Pablo Perez, 20-year-old Mavis Castillo, and 19-year-old Ever Cardenas. Rodriguez and Mena are being charged with forgery, a class D felony. Rodriguez and the rest are being charged with ongoing criminal conduct, a class B felony, and conspiracy to commit credit card fraud, a class C felony.