LOWER ALLEN TOWNSHIP, Pa. (BRAIN) — Police served an arrest warrant on a 34-year-old Florida man wanted in connection to credit card fraud at several Pennsylvania bike shops last year. The man allegedly used a fake ID with the same name used in similar cases at bike shops Portland, Oregon, last year, and may also be tied to a similar case in Maryland.
Last March, the Lower Allen Township Police Department responded to a report of credit card fraud at World Cup Ski & Cycle. The owner of the shop told police a white male tried to use a credit card on his phone to purchase items totaling $3,635.95, using a California driver's license with the name "David Ward" on it. After two attempts to use a card on his cell phone, the suspect manually entered a credit card number into the credit card machine and that transaction was completed, the retailer told police.
The same day, the Hampden (Penn.) Township Police Department was investigating a credit card fraud at Mountainside Ski & Sport. Police there stopped a black Dodge Caravan with a Michigan registration that met the description of the vehicle used by the man at Mountainside. The driver was later identified as Brian Arredondo of Miami, Florida; the owner of World Cup Ski and Cycle identified the suspect as the man who made the purchase at his store and also identified merchandise from the store inside the van.
The merchandise included a BMC bike, a Garmin Edge 830, some SPD-SL pedals, a Lezyne bike light, a Lazer helmet, two One Wheel electric skateboards and other goods. According to police the van also contained "three cell phones, numerous credit cards with multiple names, an HP laptop computer, an MSR X6 credit card skimmer found in backpack in cargo area, a fake ID for David Ward, and other misc items."
Lower Allen Township police said the One Wheel skateboard serial numbers matched the serial numbers of products reported stolen from another area store in March. Police issued a warrant for Arredondo's arrest in June 2021. He was arrested and arraigned on some of the charges on Dec. 29, 2021. Arredondo is charged with Theft by Deception, Access Device Fraud and Receiving Stolen Property. He was being held on $18,000 bail at the Cumberland County Prison. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 13.
Last January, BikeIndex.org issued an "Alert to Bike Shops" saying that a man using an ID for "David Ward" was connected to several bike shop credit card thefts in the Portland area. Court records and local news reports also tie a man with the same name and description to a credit card fraud at a Mount Airy, Maryland, bike shop last March.
