Two New York residents believed to be part of a nationwide scheme involving stolen and fraudulent returns at businesses were arrested on Sept. 4, according to a press release from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Mercedes Enskat, 22, was charged with possession of a forged or stolen identification. Pavel Harna, originally referred to as John Doe, is charged with using a false ID and giving false identification to a law enforcement officer. They are being held at the Okaloosa County Jail and remain on hold for immigration.
Enskat and Harma were arrested following a traffic stop in Destin around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. During the stop, OCSO deputies recovered thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, clothing, and high-end electronics, as well as tens of thousands of dollars in cash from inside the pair’s vehicle.
The incident started when the man and woman entered the Walmart in Destin and returned an iPad and other items for cash. A second return was attempted but refused after loss prevention identified them as being part of a suspected fraud ring, according to the OCSO report.
Deputies spotted the pair leaving in their 2016 Dodge Durango and made a traffic stop in the parking lot of a business at 15015 Emerald Coast Parkway. The OSCO was able to determine that the returned iPad had been fraudulently obtained via a Walmart in Miami, Florida in a “sleight of hand” exchange, but an affidavit was unable to be obtained at the time of the investigation.
Therefore, the corporal was about to tell them they were free to leave. However, as they put on seat belts, he requested consent to search the vehicle and was granted permission.
OCSO found a bag with more than $50,000 cash and a fraudulent passport for Harma. Another bag had nearly $5,000 cash.
Deputies also found fraudulent identification for Enskat.
