Man Tries to Open Credit Cards at Trumbull Jewelers, Gets Nabbed in the Act: PD

TRUMBULL, CT — If at first you don't succeed then try again didn't apply well for a man who was caught in the act of opening up a fraudulent credit card, police said.

A resident of Washington state called Trumbull Police to tell them that a man was in the process of opening a credit card at the Zale's store in the mall, police said. He was tipped off to the fraudulent activity when the store credit bureau had called him to confirm his identity.

Police went to the Zale's store, but the alleged fraudster had left by then and didn't open a credit card account, according to police. They watched video of the suspect.

It didn't take long for the Washington victim to call police back. This time the same thing was happening at Kay Jewelers and the suspect was nabbed in the process, police said. Michael Wells, 46, of Brooklyn, New York had a fraudulent photo ID on his person along with a fraudulent Bank of America card, police said. He said the ID was made at a photo shop in Brooklyn.

The victim told police he has run into identity theft issues since he fell victim to an IRS scam three years ago.

Wells was charged with two counts of third-degree identity theft, two counts of second-degree forgery and interfering with police.