A federal grand jury Thursday handed down a three-count indictment for credit card fruad against three Brazilian nationals arrested Jan. 14 on a cruise ship in St. Thomas.
The three counts allege the defendants had equipment to make counterfeit credit and charge cards, had 15 or more counterfeit and unauthorized cards, and used a counterfeit Visa credit card to pay for expenses on board the cruise ship Enchantment of the Seas.
Specifically, the indictment claims that the three men had a magnetic strip encoder with ports and cable for computer hook-up, plus a laptop computer; 13 white plastic cards encoded with Visa account numbers; two counterfeit Diners Club International charge cards; three counterfeit Visa credit cards; and four counterfeit MasterCard charge cards.
The maximum penalty for possession of equipment to make fraudulent credit cards is 15 years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. The penalty for possession of 15 or more fraudulent or unauthorized charge cards carries a fine of $250,000 and 10 years' imprisonment.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Customs Service and the V.I. Justice Department white collar crime unit. The U.S. Secret Service is continuing the investigation.