MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Police arrested a northwest Miami-Dade woman on nine felony charges on Tuesday after they accused her of stealing victims’ credit cards, using them to buy more than $100,000 worth of items and then selling the items online.
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Jania Selena Saunders, a 27-year-old resident of the county’s Brownsville area, is accused of committing the financial crime spree while on probation for uttering forged bills and third-degree grand theft.
According to an arrest report, Saunders targeted cards issued by Synchrony Bank, which issues branded credit cards for retailers including Lowe’s, BrandsMart USA, City Furniture and Harbor Freight.
Police said Saunders stole mailed credit cards intended for victims in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, as well as one in Kentucky. They didn’t specify in the report how they believe she was able to intercept them.
Authorities said Saunders was seen on surveillance video at various retailers — including Lowe’s locations in North Miami Beach and Sunrise, a Harbor Freight store in Florida City and a BrandsMart USA near Dadeland Mall — using the stolen cards to buy goods.
In another case, police said Saunders used a dead person’s identity to claim their BrandsMart USA credit card and to apply for and receive an Amazon account.
Synchrony Bank lost $110,000 from the fraudulent transactions, the report states.
Police said Saunders and another woman, identified in the arrest report as Dezuandra Frasier, sold the stolen items through Facebook.
It’s not clear whether Frasier is facing or will face charges in connection with this case. Miami-Dade court records show the 28-year-old was sentenced to probation herself in 2019 for grand theft and burglary.
As for Saunders, police said probation officers went to her home on Tuesday and took her into custody.
Authorities said a search of her home revealed three Georgia and one Florida driver’s license, each with her picture and different names, as well as three credit cards with other names embossed on them.
Saunders, who’s facing individual counts of organized scheme to defraud, grand theft and using the identity of a deceased person, as well as six counts of fraudulent use of personal identification, was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $47,500 bond as of Wednesday, online jail records show.