Hollywood restaurant owner among several charged in massive credit card fraud scheme

A Hollywood restaurant owner is among several people facing charges in connection with a massive mail theft and credit card fraud scheme that led to hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of products and services being stolen, authorities said.

Wilkin Estrella, 46, was arrested Feb. 8 on 18 charges including organized fraud, money laundering, criminal use of personal identification information, fraudulent use of the personal information of a deceased person and unlawful possession of the personal information of another person, Broward court records showed.

Estrella's wife, 45-year-old Lissett Liranzo, was also arrested on Feb. 8 on charges of organized fraud, money laundering and unlawful possession of another person's identification, records showed.

A third suspect, 34-year-old Rodney Manuel Arias, was arrested Sunday on charges of organized fraud and money laundering, records showed.

Broward Sheriff's Office

Broward Sheriff's Office

According to arrest affidavits, Davie Police began an investigation after they were contacted by a victim who said she received a notification of a new inquiry on her credit report and noticed a new Citi Bank credit card in her name.

The woman was also notified she would be receiving credit cards from Capital One and American Express, and that day a black Cadillac Escalade pulled up to her mailbox and someone inside retrieved some of her mail.

Surveillance footage captured the Escalade's license plate, which was registered to Estrella, the affidavits said.

Coral Springs Police said the Escalade had also been involved in a July 6 incident where someone removed mail from a home.

According to the affidavits, Estrella owns Labios Kitchen and Lounge in Hollywood and had an employee of the restaurant assist him in the scheme.

The affidavits said Estrella and the employee were seen on various dates removing mail and tampering with mailboxes in Cooper City, Plantation, Sunrise, Davie and Southwest Ranches.

On Aug. 28, Estrella and the employee entered Davie and started removing mail from several residences while they were under surveillance, the affidavits said.

Investigators watched Estrella later drop the employee off at a Best Buy in Plantation where she tried to buy $1,424.97 worth of Apple products but the credit card was rejected, the affidavits said.

Authorities later executed search warrants at the restaurant and Estrella's home. At the home, investigators found several credit cards in Liranzo's purse that weren't issued to her or in her name, the affidavits said.

Investigators said Estrella, believed to be the leader of the criminal organization, obtained personal information on the dark web to open the credit cards, the affidavits said.

Estrella received hundreds of peoples' personal information through Telegram and other apps and exchanged the personal information and credit card information with others, the affidavits said.

Dozens of credit card accounts were opened with victims' information and most were maxed out within 30 days, the affidavits said.

Through the scheme, over $339,000 in property and services were fraudulently obtained, the affidavits said.

The cards were used at clubs in Miami, at Best Buy stores, liquor stores, for Spirit Airlines tickets, at Sam's Club, on Amazon, and to pay for yacht rentals, utility bills, vehicle insurance, and even day care services, the affidavits said.

The cards were also used at a business owned by Arias, who is also accused of using cards on multiple occasions to make purchases of Apple products at Best Buy stores, the affidavits said.

In one instance, Arias and two other suspects bought tires at BMW of Pembroke Pines using a fraudulent credit card, the affidavits said.

Estrella and Liranzo were booked into jail and later released on bond, records showed. Arias remained behind bars Thursday on a $225,000 bond, Broward jail records showed.

Davie Police said an investigation was ongoing and there could be more arrests.