Local phone company helps arrest three for fraud

Three New York residents are in Bannock County jail after they were allegedly caught attempting fraud at an AT&T store in Pocatello on Monday.

Franchesca Moquete, Hansel Beltre Sanchez, and Damelly Domiguez De Jimenez were all arrested after allegedly attempting to open an account and purchase new phones.

Lt. Paul Manning with Pocatello police said this is a common scam. Criminals buy new phones and then turn around and sell them, often out of country, for profit.

An AT&T employee caught on to the fraud and recognized Sanchez from a previous warning email from the company. Police were alerted and were able to arrest all three suspects while they were still in the store.

All three are charged with one count of burglary. Both Moquete and Sanchez are also charged with one count of possession and intent to use a financial transaction card.

Manning said it’s great the company employees were able to recognize something wasn’t right and alert police. He said fraud is very hard for police to track because the suspects are constantly changing names, vehicles, etc. He said rental cars are often used in crimes like this, making it even harder to trace.

“It’s really difficult for law enforcement to track them when they’re changing their methods so often and that’s why this was such a good thing for the police department to have employees alert,” Manning said.

Manning said the rental car the suspects were traveling in was impounded and police are currently working on obtaining a search warrant for it.

Manning said this is the second fraud case like this they’ve seen recently in Pocatello. He said it’s always important for employers to remind employees to be alert and vigilant. Manning said if something doesn’t feel right, call the police and let them check it out.