Hartford man arrested, accused of using fraudulent cards at Manchester store

Aug. 10—MANCHESTER — An investigation conducted by the State Police Statewide Organized Crime Investigative Task Force has resulted in the arrest of a Hartford man who is accused of using fraudulent credit cards to purchase over $8,000 worth of appliances from P.C. Richard and Son.

The man, Jorge Monroy Hernandez, 32, was charged in July with organized retail theft, and conspiracy to commit each of the following: second-degree identity theft, third-degree identity theft, third-degree larceny, and using a revoked payment card.

According to a state police affidavit, events happened this way:

Hernandez and another unidentified individual went to the electronics and mattress store on Hale Road in March, and said they needed to purchase items for rental properties.

They purchased televisions, security cameras, air purifiers, speakers, thermostats, and a refrigerator.

The two men said their boss would provide the payment information over the phone, and two different credit card numbers were relayed to an employee, for a total purchase of $8,785 split between the two.

The two men provided a name and phone number of the purchaser on the invoice.

The store later received a charge-back for the transactions, because they were identified as fraudulent.

Police determined that one of the credit cards belonged to a person in Ohio, while the other was a business card connected to New York.

Both victims were contacted, and confirmed that they hadn't authorized the purchases and had reported them to their banks.

Using the phone number provided at the time of purchase, police analyzed call records, and found that a number belonging to Hernandez had called that number the day the purchases were made at P.C. Richard. This eventually led them to meet with Hernandez in May.

Hernandez explained that he had met a man at a restaurant in Hartford a few months before, who hired him to purchase some items for rental properties. Hernandez said he went to the store in March, not knowing that the credit cards were stolen.

After leaving the store, Hernandez said he and the other man drove to Cromwell, where they met two men with a box truck, who loaded the items inside and drove away.

He called the man who hired him afterward, but was never paid for the job.

Police were eventually able to speak with a man of the same name Hernandez had provided, but that man said his identity had also been compromised.

He said he no longer lived in the state, and did not have any knowledge of what had happened.

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