Kennewick suspects in elaborate card scheme indicted in federal court

Two Miami men accused of making dozens of counterfeit credit cards by placing skimming devices on gas pumps in Spokane now face February trials in federal court.

Gilner E. Garcia, 27, and Yordano Bonachea, 26, were indicted this month by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Washington.

The Cuban immigrants were arrested Oct. 18 in a Kennewick hotel room and charged with several counts of second-degree identity theft for their alleged ties to the elaborate regional fraud scheme.

Following the indictments, Benton County prosecutors dismissed their Superior Court charges without prejudice, meaning they can be refiled if the federal matters fall through.

Garcia and Bonachea have pleaded innocent in a Spokane federal courtroom to felony charges of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, possession of 15 or more counterfeit access devices and use of counterfeit access devices.

Garcia also faces five counts of aggravated identity theft, while Bonachea faces three counts of the same charge.

The identity thefts each carry mandatory two-year prison terms to be served consecutive to the maximum sentence of 10 years for the other felonies.

Bonachea waived his right to a bail hearing and is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

At Garcia’s bail hearing, federal prosecutors withdrew their motion to detain him and agreed to his release on a number of conditions. He must participate in a GPS monitoring program while his case is pending and surrender his passport to federal officials, whether he stays in Eastern Washington or returns to southern Florida.

Judge Sal Mendoza Jr. has been assigned to both cases. Bonachea’s trial is set for Feb. 8. and Garcia’s is on the calendar for the following week.

Police reviewed surveillance footage, which showed two men attempting to use multiple cards to make purchases. Cards that weren’t declined were used to buy prepaid gift cards, court documents said.

The suspects were spotted leaving in a black Kia Soul, and police searching the city eventually found it parked outside the Fairfield Inn. A desk clerk viewed pictures of the suspects from Target and confirmed they were staying in one of the hotel rooms, documents said.

Bonachea and Garcia answered the door and invited officers in to show identification, documents said. Police allegedly saw new merchandise from several stores in the room and arrested the men on suspicion of fraud.

Federal prosecutors say Bonachea and Garcia, over a few days in October, got personal identifying information of credit card holders, including names and account numbers, and used it to make counterfeit cards with the information encoded on the magnetic strips or to alter genuine cards.

A skimming device collects card data when customers insert the card to pay, and that data then can be downloaded.

The men used the cards to purchase merchandise and gift cards from stores without the permission of the true account holders, court documents said.

Police found the men with 62 fraudulent credit cards in their names, documents said. However, those cards were re-encoded with the legitimate account numbers.

Officers recovered several large stacks of prepaid gift cards totaling more than $35,000, wrapped in plastic and hidden behind a refrigerator, documents said. They also seized ledgers with store names, dollar amounts and four-digit credit card codes.

Kennewick police immediately contacted the U.S. Secret Service and learned the men were suspects in similar schemes in Spokane and Idaho.

Prosecutors allege the actions of Bonachea and Garcia affected interstate and foreign commerce.

The duo denied knowing anything about the fake credit cards or other evidence, and claimed they had traveled to Washington to smoke marijuana because it is legal.

This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Kennewick suspects in elaborate card scheme indicted in federal court."