Two charged with using fake credit cards in Perryville

Two people are facing felony forgery charges after using fake credit cards to buy cigarettes in Perryville, Missouri, police said.

Perryville police arrested Ashem R. Jamaal, 27, of Brooklyn, New York, and Diana C. Tolbert, 23, of Philadelphia on Monday. The Perry County Prosecuting Attorney's Office charged them with nine counts of felony forgery each. Their bonds were set at $10,000 cash only.

Jamaal told a Secret Service special agent he had purchased 15 fraudulent credit cards from an internet chat room, police said. He and Tolbert used those cards to buy several cartons of cigarettes from a Perryville convenience store with the intent of selling them, police said.

Officers from the Perryville Police Department and deputies from the Perry County Sheriff's Office were alerted to possible fraud at St. Joe's General Store, according to a probable-cause statement filed by officer Jordan Bain.

Deputies stopped Jamaal and Tolbert's vehicle, and an investigation revealed they had made $1,731 worth of purchases at four convenience stores in Perryville using several different credit cards, Bain wrote.

A search of Jamaal and Tolbert's vehicle revealed numerous cartons of cigarettes, five American Express Serve cards with the name Cole Griffis on the front, two American Express Serve cards with the name Diana C. Tolbert on the front, two Citi Mastercards with the name Cole Griffis and one Visa credit card without a name, according to the statement.

Deputies discovered an Illinois driver's license with Jamaal's face and the name Cole Griffis, which Illinois State Police determined was fraudulent, Bain wrote.

Investigators obtained a Crestwood, Missouri, police report from Jan. 20 in which a credit card using the name Cole Griffis was used to pay for service done to Jamaal and Tolbert's vehicle at Car-X Tire and Auto in Crestwood.

Tolbert waived her Miranda rights and said she and Jamaal had driven from Memphis, Tennessee, to see friends in St. Louis, according to the statement. They stopped in Perryville and purchased cigarettes, Bain wrote. Tolbert then changed her story under questioning, saying they came to Perryville to purchase cigarettes and then sell them at another location, according to the statement.

Jamaal declined to talk to Bain but decided to waive his rights when questioned Tuesday by Secret Service agent Brendan Lyle, Bain wrote. Jamaal said he bought the credit cards from a chat room called "ICQ," according to the statement.

Tolbert also spoke to Lyle, waiving her rights, and said she met several people in St. Louis, where she and Jamaal obtained the forged credit- card information and used it to purchase cigarettes, according to the statement.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

1230 W. Saint Joseph St., Perryville, Mo.