Miami Beach Meter-Man Charged With Fraud
MIAMI BEACH (CBS4) - A Miami Beach parking enforcement officer was arrested after he allegedly stole credit cards and cash from a vehicle and racked up more than $10 thousand in fraudulent charges.
According to Miami Beach police, 23-year old Ramon Soler was on a ride-along with a police officer on February 19th, when the officer pulled over a driver in the 1300 block of Alton Road on suspicion of driving under the influence. While the driver was performing a roadside sobriety test, Soler reportedly went into the suspect's car and stole a wallet containing a number of credit cards and $500 in cash.
Soler then allegedly went on a spending spree.
Soler's arrest affidavit states that he made three purchases with a stolen credit card at a Sunoco gas station on Coral Way the same day he reportedly stole the wallet. Later that day, using his computer, he also allegedly ordered nearly $10-thousand in parts for his 2000 Ford Mustang from AmericanMuscle.com using a stolen American Express card and had them shipped to a former neighbor's address.
When American Express noticed that Soler was using a different shipping address than his home address they put a hold on his order. American Muscle then sent Soler an email that his order had been put on hold and he needed to contact them.
During the course of the investigation, American Muscle gave detectives a recorded conversation in which Soler talked about the hold on the order which had been purchased with a stolen credit card.
Investigators say Soler also charged more than $170 dollars on the stolen cards before he was taken into custody.
During questioning, police say Soler admitted to the theft and fraud.
"He is a part-time employee so he has been relieved of all duties pending the outcome of the investigation. He will not be scheduled for work and will not be paid," Miami Beach spokeswoman Nannette Rodriguez told CBS4's Gio Benitez.
Soler has been charged with one count of grand theft, one count of burglary of a vehicle and four counts of fraud using personal identification.
