MERIDAN -- Four California men are facing felony charges after police say they caught them using stolen debit card numbers at a Meridian Walmart.
Eighteen-year-old Trung Thien Nguyen, 20-year-old Loi Phu Ho and 21-year-old Nhan Minh Huynh, all of San Jose, and 19-year-old Thanh The Pham of Dublin, California were arrested Thursday evening.
Meridian Police Deputy Chief Tracy Basterrechea said the four were "caught in the act" as they tried to use the fraudulent cards at the Walmart Store on Fairview.
Basterrechea said the card numbers had been stolen from identity theft victims by someone else, then reprinted on the fraudulent debit cards, which were in turn sold to Nguyen, Pham, Ho and Huynh in California.
4 men charged in Meridian fraudulent card case
Employees at Walmart became suspicious and alerted police after the men used the cards to purchase hundreds of dollars in gift cards. The four suspects were still in the store when officers arrived.
Basterrechea said several of the men admitted to police that they knew the cards they were using were fraudulent. All four were arrested and booked into the Ada County Jail.
Pham, Nguyen and Ho are each charged with a felony count of criminal possession of a financial transaction card, while Huynh is charged with felony fraud.
All are due in court Friday afternoon.
