Two arrested at Costco after alleged credit card fraud spree
Two New York residents were arrested Sunday at a Connecticut Costco after employees flagged an alleged credit card fraud scheme at self-checkout, police said. Officers found 28 stolen cards with different names in their vehicle, plus merchandise believed taken from a second Costco location about 30 minutes away.
The case drew attention beyond Connecticut because of the scale of the alleged credit card fraud and the suspects' outstanding warrants in New York and New Jersey. South Windsor police described the pair as suspected serial Costco shoplifters targeting warehouse stores across state lines.
Key Takeaways
- Brittany A. Howard, 35, of the Bronx, and Kasheem M. Williams, 34, of Brooklyn, were arrested June 28 at Costco on Tamarack Avenue in South Windsor, Connecticut.
- Police said employees reported the duo stealing merchandise and attempting to pay with fraudulent credit cards at self-checkout.
- Officers recovered 28 credit cards bearing different names from the suspects' vehicle, along with goods believed stolen from a Costco in Enfield.
- Both suspects faced existing extraditable warrants and were held on $250,000 surety bonds.
- They were charged with larceny, payment card theft, identity theft, and conspiracy.
What happened at the South Windsor Costco?
South Windsor police said officers responded around 3 p.m. Sunday to the Costco at 1220 Tamarack Avenue after reports of two shoplifters actively stealing from the store. According to authorities, the suspects were trying to pay at self-checkout with fraudulent credit cards when employees intervened.
Lt. Mark Cleverdon told WFSB that officers arrived on scene and both parties were taken into custody. The incident unfolded just before 4 p.m., according to authorities cited by Yahoo News.
How did Costco employees connect two stores?
Employees at the South Windsor location had already been notified that the same two suspects had just attempted a similar scheme at the Costco in Enfield, police said. Enfield sits roughly a 30-minute drive north of South Windsor.
That cross-store alert allowed staff to flag the pair before they could complete checkout. The coordinated tip mirrors other retail fraud cases covered in our Bizarre News & Florida Man section, where quick employee action has stopped alleged scammers in their tracks.
Who are the suspects and what were they carrying?
Police identified the suspects as Brittany A. Howard, 35, of the Bronx, and Kasheem M. Williams, 34, of Brooklyn. After the arrests, officers searched the pair's vehicle and found 28 credit cards with different names on them, along with items believed to have been stolen from the Enfield Costco.
Authorities described the financial documents as stolen. Police did not specify whether cardholders had already reported fraudulent charges tied to those cards.
What charges and warrants do the suspects face?
South Windsor police charged Howard and Williams with second-degree larceny, 28 counts of payment card theft, third-degree identity theft, and conspiracy to commit third-degree identity theft. Police said both were held on $250,000 surety bonds and scheduled to appear in Manchester Superior Court on Monday morning.
Before the Connecticut arrest, both suspects carried active out-of-state extraditable warrants. Howard had a warrant from Hudson County, New Jersey, on credit card theft charges, while Williams faced a Suffolk County, New York, warrant on charges including burglary, strangulation, and assault, according to Fox News.
The allegations remain unproven until resolved in court. South Windsor police said the investigation remains open as prosecutors review the case.