By Kevin Deutsch
A Coral Springs man was arrested last week after receiving large shipments of fake American Express cards at his home—items police said he trafficked for profit, court records show.
Acting on a tip from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which had discovered a fraudulent card shipment containing 101 fake but authentic-looking American Express cards, Coral Springs Police began surveilling the package’s intended recipient, Matthew Hall, 27, of 11136 NW 1st Pl., according to an arrest affidavit.
During the investigation, police learned Hall had received a shipment of 151 additional cards in June 2022, records show. Since June 2021, an additional eight shipments of 1,200 total cards were believed to have been delivered to Hall, police said.
When Hall arrived home in his white 2016 Porsche Macan on Aug. 5, police were watching. He picked up one of the packages waiting at his front door as he left, and they took him into custody, records show.
The fake credit cards examined by police were made from a type of metal and looked real. But they lacked identifying information like account numbers, cardholder names, and expiration dates, police said.
Typically, that information is customized for black market buyers and added to fake cards before they are sold illegally.
In an interview with police, Hall admitted he alters fake American express cards by “adding names and fictitious account numbers to their surfaces; however, he stated that he only manufactures these cards as ‘memorabilia,’” the affidavit states.
Hall then said he did not want to say anything else to investigators.
Upon searching Hall, police found a fake, black American Express Centurion Card. The real version of that card is one of the most coveted credit cards available today.
The card was made from the same metal stock as the shipments inspected by customs agents, police said.
Hall was booked into the Broward Main Jail and charged with trafficking in counterfeit credit cards.
Records show he was released on a $7,500 bond and pleaded not guilty.
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