Police Charge Four in Alleged Identity Theft Ring

South Brunswick Police charged four New York City residents Thursday evening as part of an alleged identity theft ring involved in credit card fraud.

Bobby Rock, 25, Chadia Jardine, 26, Brandell Charleston, 29, and Nicole Bell, 23, all of New York City, were each charged with credit card fraud and conspiracy.

At 6 p.m., the group of three women and one man entered the Quick Chek on Route 130 in Dayton after their credit card was declined at the gas pump outside. Once in the store, one of the women asked for two $100 gift cards and paid for it using a MasterCard, according to police.

Simultaneously, Rock asked for gift cards using an American Express card to pay for it, police said. Both suspects had credit cards that were in their name and they provided driver’s licenses for identification, according to police.

After noticing something was odd, the store manager contacted American Express, who advised him to seize the card and contact authorities. 

South Brunswick officers arrived at the scene and found the suspects getting ready to leave the gas station. Authorities determined the suspects were using credit cards that were in their names, but with magnetic strips that were encoded with the information of identity theft victims, according to police. 

In total, officers recovered 30 credit cards from the suspects. 

The four suspects have a Tuesday court date, as police continue investigating the incident.