A U.S. Secret Service investigation into a complicated credit card device fraud scheme led to a raid of a Pembroke Pines home and the arrest of two South Florida men.
The raid happened Tuesday at a home on Southwest 156th Avenue, where Secret Service agents and Pembroke Pines Police were seen documenting multiple high-end cars, including a Range Rover and at least two Mercedes G-Wagens.
According to a criminal complaint, the raid resulted in the arrests of Willan Pupo, 36, and Joel Castillo, 38, on multiple charges including conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The investigation apparently began in April 2024, when the Secret Service received information that Pupo and Castillo were engaged in an ongoing credit card charge-back scheme, the complaint said.
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Pupo and Castillo used shell companies to rent point-of-sale terminals that allow businesses to accept and facilitate payments from customers and keep track of sales, the complaint said.
They then used the terminals to conduct fraudulent transactions, often using stolen credit card numbers, then deposited the proceeds in a bank account, the complaint said.
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The credit card owners would dispute the charges and the card issuers reversed the charges using a process called "charge back," but because the bank account registered with the device no longer has any funds, the credit card processing company is left to incur the loss.
One device set up in February for just a month led to a total of 268 charges, totaling $975,565.10.
The money was quickly transferred to other accounts and within a day of the first transaction, credit card companies began receiving calls to dispute the charges.
Investigators discovered 144 transactions were either fraudulent or "service not provided," the complaint said.
When the credit card companies demanded the funds be returned, the proceeds had been dissipated and the credit card processing company suffered a loss of about $966,000.
The application used for the device included a fake driver's license and fraudulent bank statement, the complaint said.
But investigators found the IP address used for the application came back to Pupo and his home in Pembroke Pines, the complaint said.
They also found that the money went to one account, then checks were issued from that account to "businesses" run by Pupo and Castillo, the complaint said.
A day after that device was disabled, a new application was submitted for another device, and the Secret Service arranged for a controlled delivery of the device to Pupo's home in Pembroke Pines, the complaint said.
Castillo later took it to his home, and several transactions were later made using the device, the complaint said.
Pupo and Castillo were booked into jail. Attorney information wasn't available.
