Pembroke Pines man jailed in Ohio on identity fraud charge, police say
A Pembroke Pines man is behind bars in Ohio after being accused of stealing a credit union customer’s account information and withdrawing a large sum of money from their account, according to court records.
Leocardo Costume, 31, was booked into a Toledo jail on Thursday, June 4, on a fourth-degree felony charge for identity fraud less than 24 hours after a judge signed off on a warrant for his arrest, according to an affidavit.
Toledo Police Department investigators say Costume was caught on security footage falsely presenting himself as a Directions Credit Union member on Friday, May 29, after using the customer’s stolen ATM card and PIN to withdraw over $1,000.
The victim tipped off officers about the theft, kickstarting the probe.
Police didn’t specify which Directions Credit Union location Costume defrauded, but the credit union’s website shows 12 locations within the Toledo/Michigan region.
The 31-year-old’s bond was set at $10,000 and he is expected next in court on June 12.
Ohio police say Costume did not act alone and that a second suspect accused of fraud is still on the run, WTOL 11 reported on June 4.
The alleged fraudster, who police have not identified, was with Costume when the Pembroke Pines man was arrested in Rossford, but drove across state lines into Michigan, Perrysburg Township Chief Matt Gazerek told the station.
Gazerek said officers located the suspect once more after initiating a pursuit, but lost them when they “ran on foot into a wooded area off I-75, exit 205, in Michigan,” WTOL 11 reported.
Neither the Toledo Police Department nor the Perrysburg Township Police Department had responded to the Pembroke Pines News’ request for comment as of June 5.
