Police: Man Used Credit Cards To Make Nearly $1,000 in Illegal Charges

Hopkins police say a Minneapolis man used credit cards stolen from the Hopkins LA Fitness to rack up hundreds of dollars in fraudulent charges, according to court documents filed Monday.

A man told police Aug. 9 that he realized someone had stolen his credit cards from a secured locker when Wells Fargo notified him of several suspicious transactions, Detective Raymond Laudenbach wrote in the charging documents.

Surveillance footage caught 25-year-old Demarcus Lee Washington using the stolen cards that same day at:

• the Blake Road Holiday service station for $104,
• the St. Louis Park Target on Highway 7 for $424 and
• the Nicollet Mall Target in Minneapolis for $462, including the purchase of four $100 Visa gift cards.

In all, police accuse Washington of illegally charging about $990 to the stolen credit cards.

LA Fitness records show that he’s a member of the gym and checked into the gym on the day the credit cards were stolen.

Prosecutors have charged Washington with financial transaction card fraud (unauthorized use)—a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Washington is not in custody and has been summoned to appear in court.