Couple facing charges related to gift cards

Windsor police arrested two Toronto residents Tuesday after they allegedly tried to pull a scam involving Devonshire Mall gift cards.

On Tuesday around 10 a.m., police received a complaint from guest services about a suspicious couple. Police said the man had told guest services he was from Toronto and bought a large amount of mall gift cards using a credit card.

Shortly after, the woman returned to the guest services booth and also tried to buy a large sum of gift cards. She was denied because the identification card she was using had expired. Officers also learned that the man had just used most of the gift cards at a store in the mall. Police said the officers tracked down the man and learned that the credit card he used to buy the gift cards had been altered. He was also under court orders not to possess a credit card.

Police said they arrested him and also found he was carrying 14 grams of methamphetamine.

The officers and mall security then found the woman. Police said it turned out she used a false name when she tried to buy the gift cards.

She is also under a court order not to possess a credit card. Police arrested her as well.

Irwin Buenaventura, 38, from Toronto, is charged with fraud under $5,000, breach of recognizance, breach of probation and possession of a controlled substance. Michelle Matheson, 30, from Toronto, is charged with fraud under $5,000, fraudulent personation and breach of probation.