Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Rico Martino Michel, 35, of Orlando, is facing nine felony charges after allegedly using stolen credit cards to purchase over $25,000 in iPads, Nintendo Switches, and other merchandise from the Gainesville Target and other stores.
Target’s Loss Prevention Officers (LPO) notified a Gainesville Police Department officer on June 15 that Michel had come into the store several times and purchased “stacks of iPads,” numerous Nintendo Switches, and other Apple and Nintendo products over a two-day period. They believed the purchases were likely fraudulent because Michel bought far more than the typical amount of these products and only purchased two items at a time, although he brought “stacks” of iPads and Switches to the checkout counter; however, he used the same credit card every time, and the name on the card was a female name. The LPOs noted that the technique of keeping purchases under a certain dollar amount is often used in an attempt to avoid the threshold for fraud notifications to the cardholder…