FORT MYERS, Fla. — Two men accused of credit card fraud were arrested Wednesday after a traffic stop, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said.
Jorge Antonio Cruz Cepero, 21, and Yariel Ernesto La Rosa-Mena, 29, both of Tampa, face charges of trafficking in counterfeit credit cards and possession of marijuana under 20 grams.
The pair claimed they were traveling from Miami and heading home to Tampa when Lee County Sheriff’s detectives pulled over the Mercedes Benz they were traveling in along Interstate 75.
Detectives discovered several credit cards in the car that had outward indicators of being counterfeit, with information from other people encoded on them, according to the sheriff’s office. They also found 176 blank credit cards and marijuana.
Cruz Cepero and La Rosa-Mena’s have prior arrests for credit card fraud in Missouri and Georgia. La Rosa-Mena is on felony probation in Hillsborough County for credit card fraud.
The two were taken to Lee County Jail. Cruz Cepero was released on a $45,000 bond while La Rosa-Mena remains in custody with a $45,000 bond.
