Tampa men plead to credit card fraud

Two Tampa, Florida men agreed to pay over $2,400 in restitution Monday morning stemming from their alleged roles in a recent Williamsburg credit card fraud case.

Isael C. Velazquez, 32, and Osmani Ramirez Chavez, 40, were originally arrested by Williamsburg Deputy Police Chief Jason Caddell on May 26 and charged with felony fraudulent use of a credit card.

The pair have been incarcerated in the Whitley County Detention Center since then in lieu of $50,000 cash bonds.

As part of their plea deal Monday, the pair agreed to plead guilty to fraudulent use of a credit card under $500, which is a misdemeanor offense, in exchange for a 12-month jail sentence.

The plea agreement calls for the two men to be released from jail on unsupervised probation after the $2,413.08 restitution has been paid in full. This is the total amount of restitution owed by both men combined.

The $2,413.08 in restitution represents repayment in three total thefts, which took place April 22, May 19 and May 26, Caddell said after court Monday morning.

The suspects were arrested on May 26 after police received a complaint from Wal-Mart related to fraudulent credit card use.

According to arrest citations, the duo allegedly bought three gift cards on that date for a total of $600 about 10:10 a.m.

Caddell then conducted a traffic stop on the suspect’s vehicle, a blue 2016 Nissan, and arrested the two men about 11:15 a.m.

“The individuals in the vehicle matched the individuals on the video from our two cases,” noted Williamsburg Police Chief Wayne Bird.

Neither men speaks English and court officials had to have an interpreter present during court proceedings Monday.

“We reached a fair settlement,” said Chavez’s attorney, John Blevins.