OREM — Two men have been arrested after buying thousands of dollars worth of merchandise using fraudulent credit cards.
According to the Orem Department of Public Safety, officers responded to Best in Music in Orem around noon on Oct. 31, where a man bought $10,000 worth of guitars.
While the officer was following up on that case, emergency dispatchers received another call that a similar case was in progress at Summerhays Music in Orem. Officers responded to Summerhays, where they arrested a second suspect, 24-year-old Robert Richardson.
Lt. Craig Martinez with the Orem Department of Public Safety said an alert clerk helped catch Richardson.
“When somebody walks into a store and looks at a guitar that is over $3,000 and says they want to buy a few but don’t pick them up, they don’t strum some notes and don’t know much about guitars it is suspicious,” Lt. Martinez said. “Most people that are going to spend that much on a guitar want to know how it sounds and ask a bunch of questions about it, so that tipped the clerk off and they gave us a call.”
Investigators found that Richardson and another suspect had been traveling from California, making credit cards, stealing people’s identities and using the stolen credit cards to make several purchases.
The other suspect in the case was found at the Best Western Hotel in Springville and originally claimed to be Juan Ramierz, but was later found to be 33-year-old Marc Martinez. Police founds tens of thousands of dollars in guitars, generators and welding boxes in the hotel room in Springville.
Lt. Martinez said the two men had bought more than $20,000 in merchandise and stole dozens of people’s credit card information.
Both Richardson and Martinez were booked into the Utah County Jail on charges of possession of a forged writing device, unlawful use of a credit card, identity theft, possession of stolen property and possession of marijuana.
Lt. Martinez said there are likely more victims out there and said the case could possibly span several states. Anyone who believes they might have been a victim should call Orem Police at (801) 229-7070.