Credit-card fraud charges pile up

Philadelphia man, 41, charged in local credit scam

By PORTSIA SMITH

Date published: 3/10/2005

City police arrest Philadelphia man

A Philadelphia man has been charged with using a fake credit card to buy a $200 gift certificate and $200 worth of DVDs at Target in Fredericksburg's Central Park.

The store's loss-prevention staff followed the suspect to a Mobil gas station on State Route 3 on Monday at 2:40 p.m., after it was discovered that the credit card was not valid, city police spokesman Jim Shelhorse said yesterday.

The male driver entered the gas station and purchased three cartons of cigarettes with the same credit card, Shelhorse said. When approached by police, he identified himself as J. Moore but had signed the credit card receipt as Jesse Daniels, Shelhorse said.

A Target employee identified him as the man who had used the bogus credit card, Shelhorse said.

A search of the rented 2005 gold Cadillac with Florida tags turned up 13 credit cards, two identification cards and a copy of a North Carolina indentity-fraud indictment, Shelhorse said.

Joseph Lee Moore Jr., 41, faces 15 counts of possession of bogus credit cards, two counts of credit card fraud, two counts of receiving goods by false pretenses, two counts of possessing false identification cards, two counts of using false identification cards and three counts of credit card forgery.

Moore was taken to Rappahannock Regional Jail and held without bond. A female passenger was not charged, Shelhorse said.

To reach PORTSIA SMITH: 540/374-5400 psmith@freelancestar.com

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Date published: 3/10/2005