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Teaneck Detectives Bust Driver With 36 Stolen Military Member Credit Cards

TEANECK, N.J. -- A Brooklyn driver who Teaneck police said got nervous when they stopped him on eastbound Route 4 was carrying three dozen bogus credit cards -- most of them with numbers belonging to military service members and their families, authorities said.

Rahshawn Mayo,

Rahshawn Mayo,

Photo Credit: MUGSHOT: Courtesy TEANECK PD

Detective Sgt. Seth Kriegel and Detective Edward Kazmierczak stopped Rahshawn Mayo, 26, on Jan. 12 for several violations, Police Chief Robert Carney said Tuesday.

Mayo "indicated that he was returning from upstate New York where he had gone to pay a ticket," Carney said.

When they asked about a bag in the vehicle containing several new Apple iPods, the chief said, Mayo told them that he'd recently bought them for family members.

At first they noticed that Mayo appeared nervous, Carney said.

Then they smelled pot, he said.

A search turned up drug paraphernalia, the credit cards and receipts tied to them, the chief said.

Mayo was carrying more cards, he said.

"All but a handful of the credit cards were falsely embossed," Carney said, adding that the majority "were were embedded with stolen credit card numbers belonging to victims with accounts from USAA Federal Savings Bank, a financial services company serving military service members and their families."

Mayo admitted he used the stolen card numbers to buy gift cards that he then used for electronics that he could sell on the street.

A judge ordered Mayo held on $7,500 bail, which he posted four days later, securing his release from the Bergen County Jail.

He awaits grand jury action on charges of credit card fraud and theft and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Carney said detectives who have "been working with banking institutions in an attempt to identify additional victims" will likely file additional cahrges.

They also seized five new iPods and $602 in cash that they'll seek to have forfeited, the chief said.

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