Two cruise ship guests were led away in handcuffs at the end of their cruise vacation on suspicion of operating a retail fraud scheme.
Rogerio da Cunha Fernandes, 45, and Aida Parada la Paz, 43 were detained at PortMiami after disembarking their ship after their short cruise.
Cruise Vacation Funded by Fraudulently Obtained Gift Cards
They were arrested along with a third person, and all are accused of running an extensive scheme to fraudulently obtain gift vouchers from stores.
Police said the couple booked their cruise using these gift vouchers. Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said da Cunha Fernandes and Parada la Paz earned about $18,000 from the fraud scheme, while a third person Beatriz Paz-Roca, 66, made about $12,000.
It involved more than 200 transactions between them.
All three individuals were residing at the same address near Miami, police said. Deputies said the three would buy gift cards at retailers such as Winn-Dixie using an “altered” Bolivian bank card.
Cunha Fernandes and Parada la Paz used gift cards fraudulently obtained from Winn-Dixie to pay for their cruise.
As well as the cruise vacation, the three suspects used the gift cards to purchase goods at stores like Apple, Amazon, Macy’s and TJ Maxx.
Gift Cards, Fraudulent Bank Card Seized by CBP Officers at PortMiami
On arrival back at PortMiami, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents undertook a targeted search and seized the bank card and “various other fraudulently purchased gift cards.”
All three now face charges of grand theft and operating an organized scheme to defraud.
Police records showed that da Cunha Fernandes, a Brazilian national, and Parada la Paz, a Bolivian national, had a $10,000 bond and each had an immigration hold placed on them.
All three were detained at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
