Police have cautioned Pennsylvania Wal-Mart stores, including those in the Pittsburgh area, that a number of suspected criminals from New York are coming to the stores to commit fraud.

Four New York men have allegedly been caught trying to buy merchandise, particularly electronic equipment, using bogus debit, credit and gift cards.

In late July, two men from Brooklyn were arrested after they allegedly tried to buy $3,165 worth of iPads from a Wal-Mart. Their credit cards were declined. When they were arrested in a nearby fast-food restaurant, police claimed they recovered a number of credit cards in the bathroom trash can, with each card displaying a different name. Both of the men also allegedly had credit cards bearing different names in their possession.

A few days later, a man from Queens, New York, was apprehended after allegedly attempting to use gift cards bought with fraudulent credit cards to obtain two iPads from another Wal-Mart store. The total value of the two iPads was reported as $1,757.

This was followed a few days later by an alleged attempt by another New York man to buy gift cards at a Pennsylvania Wal-Mart using fake credit cards. When arrested, he had $2,403 in cash, five gift cards and nine credit cards from four banks in his possession.

One police chief characterized the incidents as a rash of New Yorkers coming to Pennsylvania for fraudulent purposes.

What these men are about to find out is that Pennsylvania takes such accusations very seriously. The men all potentially face time in prison plus substantial fines if convicted. Each will need legal counsel that understands Pennsylvania's court system, laws and effective defenses against these types of allegations.

Source: The Times Herald: "Alleged out-of-state criminals busted for fraud ring" by Carl Rotenberg: Aug. 5, 2011