JACKSON TN – Three people charged with identity theft have their first court appearance.
Maria Serban, Casandra Badea and Gheorge Marian appeared in Jackson City Court, each charged with identity theft trafficking.
According to court documents, a First Tennessee Bank employee caught a man and woman using multiple credit cards Sunday to get cash from the ATMs.
Police said The two suspects fled from officers on foot while they were attempting to detain them.
According to court documents, the suspects were later found at the Red Roof Inn on North Highland Avenue. Investigators also found more than 200 credit cards, credit card skimming devices, a credit card encoder, a laptop and $70,924 in cash inside their motel room.
The suspects are all from Romania and have been in Jackson only two to three days.
First Tennessee Bank released a statement: “We are cooperating with law enforcement following incidents of unauthorized ATM transactions in Jackson. We encourage customers to review their accounts carefully and to report any suspicious activity by calling our Card Claims Center at 877-242-9895.”
This is a multi-agency investigation with local law enforcement, U.S. Secret Service. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been contacted.
All three suspects are being held at the Madison County Complex in lieu of $150,000 bond each. Their next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 2 at 9:30 a.m.
