2 Men Bought Nordstrom Items Fraudulently, Tried Returning Them In Bergen County: PD

PARAMUS, NJ — Two men were arrested Wednesday after they returned clothes to a mall in Paramus that they had bought fraudulently in Virginia, police said.

Erik A. Lake, 30, and David M. Suliz, 29, of the Bronx, were charged with identity theft, theft by deception, and receiving stolen property, police said.

Around 1 p.m. Wednesday, a Nordstrom Loss Prevention Officer notified Officer Vincent LaBarberia, of the Paramus Police Crime Suppression Unit, about a suspected fraudulent merchandise return at the store in the Westfield Garden State Plaza mall, police said.

Investigators determined that two men were in the store to return items they'd bought fraudulently at a Nordstrom in McLean, Va.

Police determined that both men had opened Nordstrom credit accounts using stolen information from various people, including their names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, and Social Security numbers, police said.

The suspects used the accounts to make purchases and then returned the items to Nordstrom stores in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, police said.

Both men were able to leave the mall and get into a black BMW X2 with Virginia lates. There, they were arrested by Sgt. Keith Bland and Officer Joe Mastrofilipo.

Suliz was found to have fraudulent credit cards on him, and Lake had a Nordstrom gift card, police said.

Police found $5,000 worth of merchandise that was fraudulently obtained, including two pairs of Chanel sunglasses, a Coach purse, Vera Bradley handbags and backpacks, Purple Brand shorts, and several pairs of Rag & Bone jeans, police said.

The men were charged with credit card fraud, identity theft, theft by deception, credit card false statements, and receiving stolen property, police said.

Both men were taken to the Bergen County Jail to await their first appearance in Central Judicial Processing.