Crime & Safety

Police Seek Burnsville Man for Credit-Card Fraud

A nationwide warrant has been issued for Luis Alfredo Velasquez.

A nationwide warrant has been issued for a Burnsville man accused of fraudulently using credit cards, including one belonging to a customer at the auto dealership where he worked.

Luis Alfredo Velasquez, 31, whose last known address was in Burnsville, faces a felony count of aggregated credit-card fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, and a felony count of credit-card fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, the owner of the car dealership contacted Burnsville police last November to report that Velasquez had used the credit card number of a customer who had provided it to the dealership to place a hold on a vehicle.

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The customer’s bank informed him that someone had used the credit-card number to buy $66 worth of items from a store in Burnsville. Police learned later from a Nevada resident that someone charged $600 worth of items using the Nevada man’s American Express card.

When officers met with Velasquez, he admitted using the auto dealership customer’s credit card to buy spark plugs and a car starter from a Burnsville store. He denied using the Nevada man’s credit card number, but admitted that he had written down the man’s credit card information in the course of his work.

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In February, Burnsville police learned that someone had fraudulently used credit card information belonging to a woman who had repair work done on her car at the auto dealership where Velasquez worked, according to the complaint. In that case, the unauthorized charge was $243 for a plane ticket.

Police contacted the airline, and learned that Velasquez had bought the ticket using the woman’s credit-card number, but had the ticket mailed to his Burnsville address, the complaint says.

The complaint says police have made multiple attempts to contact Velasquez, but he was evicted from his most recent Burnsville address and they have been unable to locate him.


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