Police officers arrested a St. Thomas man Monday who fraudulently charged over $8,000 worth of merchandise at a local store, the V.I. Police Department reported.
On July 30, detectives from the Economic Crime Unit initiated an investigation on a complaint filed by Cost U Less on St. Thomas. The investigation revealed that Xavier Calvin Graham-Lutchman, 27, used six different stolen credit card numbers in nine transactions to purchase over $8000 of merchandise from Cost U Less, including but not limited to high-end alcohol and electronics (Apple iPad minis and Play Station 5), according to the police report.
The investigation further revealed that Graham-Lutchman is not an authorized user of at least two of the credit cards, as confirmed by the cardholders, and the bank charged back all nine transactions for fraud. The investigation also revealed that one credit card number is registered to a resident of Massachusetts and another to a resident of Pennsylvania, the police report stated.
On Monday, Graham-Lutchman was observed on the shore of Lindberg Bay Beach in the area of Emerald Beach Hotel Beach Bar, where he was apprehended by the Economic Crime Unit investigators assisted by the V.I. Port Authority Law Enforcement Officers, placed under arrest, and transported to Richard Callwood Command for processing, the police report stated.
He was charged with eight counts of grand larceny, nine counts of receipt of money, goods and services obtained by fraudulent use of credit cards, one count of petit larceny, nine counts of theft-obtaining credit cards through fraudulent means, the report stated,
Graham-Lutchman was unable to post his $20,000 bail and was turned over to the
Bureau of Corrections pending his advice of rights hearing, police said.
