Counterfeit credit card ring busted at local casino

PALA - A counterfeit credit card ring was busted early today after a two-month string of fraudulent transactions at North County casinos allegedly using fake cards or stolen account numbers, sheriff's officials said.

Sheriff's deputies linked several suspects who were detained for alleged fraud by security guards at the Pala Casino about 2 a.m. to a ongoing investigation into an organized crew who specialized in manufacturing fraudulent or counterfeit credit cards and using stolen or compromised account numbers, according to sheriff's Sgt. Darryl Kimball.

Six suspects were eventually taken into custody after the on-scene investigation, Kimball said. Those arrested were Ali Qadir Aljadir, 33, of Los Angeles; Dan David Enriquez, 27, of Baldwin Park; Sarah Howbert, 26, of Chino; Josephine Chai, 27, of Hacienda Heights; Tracy Ser, 34, of Rowland Heights; and Keith Shigetomi, 34, also of Rowland Heights.

The crew allegedly used the counterfeit cards to obtain cash advances from the casinos using an elaborate scam that involved both ATM cash advances and the casinos' cashiers, Kimball said.

They had been ''very active'' over the past two months, allegedly conducting multiple fraudulent transactions at several North County casinos, Kimball said.

Each suspect was booked into the Vista Detention Facility on suspicion of multiple counts of commercial burglary and charges related to theft with an access card and possession of forged credit cards, Kimball said. Bail for each was set at $1 million, he said.