“HER REPLACEMENT DEBIT CARD CAME IN THE MAIL AND I’LL JUST USE IT MYSELF”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, POLICE SAY A TEXAS MAN USED A WOMAN’S STOLEN REPLACEMENT CARD TO RUN UP OVER $800 IN CHARGES… AND WHEN OFFICERS SEARCHED HIS CAR, THEY ALLEGEDLY UNCOVERED MORE THAN 1,000 PIECES OF MAIL BELONGING TO OTHER PEOPLE.
What began as an inquiry into a single missing replacement card has grown into a significantly wider investigation in Del Rio, Texas.
A 36-year-old man is now facing multiple criminal charges.
Kenneth Austen Belken was arrested on Tuesday.
Authorities formally charged Belken with credit or debit card abuse.
He was also charged with mail theft.
The investigation began on August 18.
On that date, a local woman contacted police after noticing fraudulent activity.
She reported discovering more than $800 in unauthorized transactions on her financial account.
Yet the report included an unusual detail.
The woman still had her current debit card in her possession.
However, she informed detectives that she had been expecting a replacement debit card to arrive in the mail.
Detectives launched an inquiry and began gathering evidence.
They obtained and reviewed surveillance footage associated with the fraudulent purchases.
According to police, that footage allegedly identified Belken as the individual using the woman’s replacement debit card.
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Investigators then secured an arrest warrant for Belken.
Officers later spotted him driving along U.S. 90 East.
Police initiated a stop and took Belken into custody.
Then officers conducted a search of his vehicle.
Inside the car, authorities uncovered a massive cache of mail.
According to police, officers found more than 1,000 pieces of mail belonging to other people inside the vehicle.
That discovery dramatically expanded what started as an inquiry into approximately $800 in fraudulent charges.
Detectives are now working to identify every person whose mail was found inside the car.
And investigators are attempting to determine how all of that correspondence allegedly ended up in Belken’s possession.
Police are also working to locate additional potential victims.
Investigators are trying to determine whether any of those individuals had financial information compromised.
They are also looking into whether other people were similarly targeted for fraud.
Authorities stated that the investigation remains open.
Police noted that additional charges could follow as detectives continue their work.
The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.
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