5 charged in ID, credit-card thefts

Identity theft led to $25,000 in fraudulent credit-card charges.

STAFF REPORT

CANFIELD — A two-month investigation led to the arrest of five people involved in a credit-card and identity-theft ring.

Arrested were: Danielle Lancia, 29, and Lamar Phenizy, 22, both of Neff Drive; Christine Alkire, 49, of Callahan Road; Teddy Szalla, 22, of Pittsburgh; and Melissa Zingarelli, 36, whose last known address is in Florida.

They were charged with various counts of identity theft in a fraud scheme that Canfield police said has been going on in the area since February.

Police said they executed two search warrants at suspects’ homes, after an investigation that began in May and recovered evidence of several hundred stolen American Express credit-card numbers.

“Investigators suspect that one of the suspects obtained the credit-card information while previously working for American Express,” Chief Chuck Colucci said, in a prepared statement released to the press Wednesday.

According to the statement, the suspects called various businesses and made purchases using the stolen credit-card numbers. Items purchased included skydiving lessons, tattoos, guitars, gift cards, theme-park tickets and meals at restaurants and fast-food establishments.

Police said the total loss is about $25,000.

“The actual owners of the credit cards were unaware ... until they received their monthly statements,” according to the released. “By this time, the suspects began to use other account numbers.”

The suspects are scheduled to appear in Mahoning County Court in Canfield on Wednesday evening. Police said the investigation is ongoing and expect to make additional arrests.