2 arrested in Dayton accused of putting credit card skimmers on Loveland gas pumps

Dec. 13—Two people arrested in Dayton for reportedly placing credit card skimmers on gas pumps in Loveland are facing federal charges.

Yasmany Ulacia Garcia, 34, and Luis Ernesto Vigil Ochoa, 29, were arrested in Dayton on Thursday, according to the Office of U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker Southern District of Ohio.

Garcia and Ochoa reportedly placed two credit card skimmers at gas pumps in Loveland multiple times in April. They're accused of stealing credit card information using the skimmers and using that information to purchase gift cards at area stores.

Surveillance video from April showed Garcia and Ochoa at self-checkout registers buying gift cards and other items at Home Depot stores in Mason, Hamilton, Lebanon, West Chester, Beechmont and Milford, as well as in Cold Spring, Kentucky, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. They also reportedly used the stolen credit card information to buy gift cards at a Mason Target.

The suspects were arrested after investigators learned they were staying at a Miller Lane hotel in Dayton. Investigators followed Garcia and Ochoa to four Home Depots and two Targets in the Dayton area.

Investigators discovered multiple gift cards and a fake American Express card in Garcia and Ochoa's vehicle, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. During a search of the suspects' hotel room investigators reportedly found a magnetic strip reader/writer and a skimming device.

Garcia and Ochoa are Cuban and ordered to be removed from the U.S. in 2019, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.