On December 22, 2022, Santa Cruz Police received reports that fraudulent citations were issued to parked vehicles in the beach area during the evening of December 21, 2022.
The scam citations used a QR Code to direct potential victims to a website for payment. It is unknown how many fraudulent citations the scammer issued or how many victims may have paid the bogus citations.
During the subsequent investigation, the suspect, Damian Vela 19-year-old resident of Watsonville, was contacted in the beach area on December 22, 2022, at about 4:00 pm. Mr. Vela admitted to the crime and denied receiving any payments. Officers searched Vela’s vehicle and located evidence relevant to the scam. Santa Cruz Police arrested and booked Damian Vela into jail for unlawful use of a computer system and attempted fraud.
Detectives are looking for additional victims of this fraud and encourage community members to come forward and contact the Investigations Unit (831) 420-5820.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.