Man Used Bogus Credit Card To Buy Smoothies In Brandon: Sheriff

TAMPA, FL — A Tampa man has been arrested after Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies say he used stole a woman's identity and used a bogus credit card to buy smoothies in Brandon.

According to the sheriff's office, just before noon June 3, Carl Emanuel Thomas, 43, went into the Tropical Smoothie Caf at 11011 Causeway Blvd. and used a counterfeit credit card twice to purchase smoothies. The tab amounted to $16.34.

The elderly woman whose name was on the card did not know Thomas and did not realize her identity had been stolen and used to make a fake credit card.

The sheriff's office issued an arrest warrant for Thomas and, on Thursday, he was picked up by the Marion County Sheriff's Office. He will be extradited to Hillsborough County where he will be charged with fraudulent use of the personal information on an elderly person and fraudulent use of a credit card.