Miami-Dade sheriff’s deputies apprehended two people after investigators claimed they used hijacked benefit accounts to buy over $2,700 worth of merchandise at a Sam’s Club in Doral.
Romario Cornel Stewart, 32, and Myrthland Damien Ince, 33, were detained Sunday after deputies and Walmart detectives conducted a surveillance operation at the Sam’s Club on Northwest 13th Terrace, according to arrest reports.
Investigators from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Organized Retail Crimes Squad and Walmart Global Investigations were looking into the fraudulent usage of compromised Florida Electronic Benefit Transfer and Nations Benefits accounts.
According to reports, detectives have identified many people accused of making significant purchases at Sam’s Club and Walmart sites around South Florida.
Deputies say Stewart was identified from past fraudulent transactions when he and Ince entered the Doral business on Sunday.
According to investigators, Stewart and Ince selected 20 containers of Tide liquid detergent, 18 packets of Café Bustelo, 70 cartons of Spam, and a package of Member’s Mark cashews.
The merchandise cost $2,704.59, according to the reports.
According to deputies, the couple carried the items to a self-checkout register and paid with information from ten compromised Nations Benefits accounts.
Investigators stated that the transaction was captured on security footage.
Stewart and Ince were apprehended after leaving the business, according to reports.
Ince was discovered with six debit cards that had been re-encoded with Nations Benefits account numbers, according to investigators.
Deputies reported that Stewart was found with four re-encoded debit cards.
Both were transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Stewart and Ince are each charged with ten counts of unauthorized use of personal identifiable information, as well as third-degree grand theft and public assistance fraud.
According to the arrest papers, both were jailed without bail until a bond hearing.
At the hearing, a judge determined probable cause and set Ince’s total bond at $35,000, with a Nebbia condition.
The judge also determined probable cause and placed Stewart’s total bond at $50,000, with a Nebbia condition.
Both were ordered to stay away from all Sam’s Club and Walmart locations in Miami-Dade.
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