Raids target card fraud, meth sales

Nine people are suspected of using card skimmers to steal data. Others are held on drug charges.

Twelve people have been arrested as part of an investigation into drug sales and a large-scale credit card skimming operation that targeted restaurant patrons, authorities said.

Federal authorities conducted early-morning raids Tuesday at properties in La Mirada, Hesperia, Norwalk and Whittier, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. The sweep targeted members of the La Mirada Punks gang and Norwalk-based gang Carmelas.

FBI officials arrested Rudy Leo Aguilar, 32, of Norwalk; Blaine Andrew Porlas, 51, of La Habra; Marco Anthony Alday III, 26, of Whittier; Milan Vukelich, 37, of Artesia; Shelly Anne Ogden, 41, of La Mirada; Leo Norman Aguilar, 32, of Norwalk; Ameer Adnan Yousef, 32, of La Mirada; and Shawn Phillip Vasquez, 49, of Hesperia.

Russell Jay Ogden, a 43year-old La Mirada resident who was also arrested, is the operation’s mastermind, federal authorities said.

They are charged in a 27count credit card fraud indictment, which says portable credit card skimming devices were placed at a Huntington Beach restaurant.

According to the 60-page court document, the defendants used the devices to steal credit and debit card information from restaurant customers.

They used the stolen information to re-encode gift cards and make unauthorized purchases, federal authorities said.

From October 2013 to July 2015, they purchased thousands of dollars of gas, toys, electronics, jewelry and other valuables, according to the indictment. The defendants often shopped at Toys R Us, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales and the Apple store. The items were later sold for cash.

Authorities said more than 500 credit cards were compromised. Banks and other financial institutions lost more than $500,000, according to federal officials.

Rudy Leo Aguilar is also named in a separate indictment that charges him with distributing nearly two pounds of methamphetamine, according to Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

During the raids, authorities also arrested Gustavo Uribe Meza, 24, of Whittier and Peter Chiapparine, 72, of South Gate in connection with a third indictment charging them with trafficking methamphetamine, Mrozek said.

Norman Aguilar Jr. was arrested in connection with charges stemming from a fourth federal indictment, he said.

The 35-year-old Norwalk resident is accused of violating federal firearms laws and trafficking nearly eight pounds of methamphetamine, Mrozek said.

Federal authorities are still looking for Lloyd Luis Leyh, 43, of Huntington Beach.