The La Porte County Sheriff's office says 10 people now face charges after taking part in a "fraudulent scheme" to bond inmates out of jail with stolen credit cards.
An investigation was launched after a jail official noticed "unusual activity in an inmate's attempt to post bond" last July, according to a press release from the sheriff's office. The investigation, the sheriff's office said, lead to the discovery that jail inmates were using "an outside source" to obtain stolen credit cards in an attempt to post bond.
"This case required countless hours of research and interviews, testifying in court, locating and interviewing victims and filing the paperwork for the search and arrest warrants," La Porte County Sheriff John Boyd said in a prepared statement.
Authorities said Shakyia Bunch took credit card numbers from victims at her job in the Chicago area and Gregory Brown, an inmate in the La Porte County Jail, used the information to post bond for inmates using the third-party bonding system available to inmates. In exchange for an inmate’s bond being posted, authorities said, they would pay Jeneva Sutton. In one case a car was exchanged for an inmate's bond as collateral, according to the press release.
The stolen credit cards belonged to victims across the country, Orange, Cali., St. Louis, Mo., Grand Rapids, Mich. and Granite City, Ill., according to the press release. All credit card transactions for posting bond were halted by "all judges in La Porte County," the release said.
During the course of the investigation, a search warrant was executed on July 19 at a home in the 200 block of Vail Street in Michigan City, Ind., authorities said, where "evidence connected to the case" an a gun were recovered.
Brown, 35, of Chicago, Bunch, 29, of Chicago, Sutton, 35, of Michigan City, Ind., Toni Dominguez, 34, Highland, Ind., Edward Jiminez, 34, Michigan City, Ind., Rischa Bonds, 36, of Michigan City, Ind., Williams Jackson, 35, Michigan City, Ind., Raynell Henry, 22, of Gary, Ind. Robert Lambert, 28, of Michigan City, Ind. and Daniel Gumns, 27, of Michigan City, Ind., were all charged with fraud.
Local
According to the press release, the United States Secret Service is assisting in the investigation because the fraudulent activity crossed state lines.
Inmates involved in the fraud scheme had their bond revoked, authorities said, and all were taken back into custody. Fraudulently bonds posted ranged from $750 to $15,000.
All victims have been notified, according to the sheriff's office, and new procedures are in place at the La Porte County court system to prevent future issue, authorities said.
