Fraud Charges Land Dana Point Man Behind Bars

DANA POINT, CA — One Orange County resident managed to skirt the typical credit card decline system through a scam called "Forced Sale Transactions," the Orange County Sheriff's Department and Orange County District Attorney's office has said.

In January, 49-year-old Dana Point man was arrested at a storage facility in Dana Point, on charges of with "forcing" credit card transactions of high end merchandise across southern California, among grand theft, forgery and fraud.

"Case was arrested at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018, in at storage facility in Dana Point," OCSD spokesperson Carrie Braun told Patch. "He subsequently was booked into Orange County jail."

What was inside that storage unit is not currently known, however the list of what he has allegedly stolen is long and detailed, according to Braun.

Daniel Lee Case was living the high life using this scam process, based upon the details of the OCSD arrest report. Case was purported to use the Forced Sale Scam to buy expensive cars, jewels, electronics and paying for fancy dinners all at the merchant's expense, totaling in the millions of dollars.

Unfortunately, the merchants didn't find out they'd been scammed until days or even weeks later, when the money would be "charged back" or electronically withdrawn from their bank accounts. The scam known as "Forced Sale Fraud" has cost area businesses millions of dollars, according to OCSD.

"The Orange County Sheriff’s Department wants the local business owners and merchants to be cautious when using the forced sale capabilities on their POS terminals," Braun advised. "POS devices have supported the forced sale function for decades, however the need for this function has diminished over time as processing systems have evolved. Most transactions require proper issuer authorization through the merchant processing network."

Case is now being investigated by the Orange County Sheriff's Department Economic Crimes Unit, along with the United States Secret Service. His cross-county fraud arrest has led Orange County Sheriff's Department to seek additional victims in Orange County, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, according to Carrie Braun, spokesperson for OCSD.

The current reported overall loss is approximately $1 million. These losses occurred over a period of nine months, and it is believed the actual amount of fraudulent transactions may be in excess of $3 million.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has filed a complaint against Case alleging the following charges:

26 counts of CPC 487 – grand theft,

18 counts of CVC 10851(a) – vehicle theft

3 counts of CPC 664-487(a) – attempted grand theft

CVC 664-10851(a) – attempted vehicle theft

CPC 470(d) – forgery

CPC 530.5(a) – identity theft

CPC 484i(c) – access card counterfeiting

CPC 484i(b) – access card forgery

CPC 484g(b) – fraudulent use of an access card

Anyone who has been a victim of Daniel Case or knows the whereabouts of the stolen merchandise is encouraged to contact the Orange County Sheriff’s Department at 714-647-7486. Anonymous tips may also be submitted to Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS.

Photo: OCSD Booking Photo