DeKalb woman admits scamming U.S. Senator in credit card fraud

By Marcus K. Garner

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A DeKalb County woman pleaded guilty Monday to her part in a credit card fraud ring that victimized, among other people, a U.S. senator.

Trianna Moss was indicted in May on identity fraud and financial transaction card fraud charges for helping two other people purchase $12,000 in Wal-Mart gift cards and other merchandise with bogus credit cards encoded with real account numbers on the magnetic strip.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, reported more than $5,700 fraudulently charged to his federally issued purchasing card at the Wal-Mart at 3580 Memorial Drive in Decatur.

Moss, 21, was an accomplice in a credit card skimming scam for which authorities are now seeking Tahir Abdul Hamed, court officials said.

“She met him at work and realizes that she made a mistake,” said Moss’ attorney, Latisha Dear, pointing to the fact that Moss was an honors graduate from Southwest DeKalb High School who had never been in trouble with the law.

As part of the first offender’s program, she was sentenced Monday to five years' probation, and must repay $5,753.88 to First Hawaiian Bank, where Inouye’s MasterCard account is held.

“First Offender’s Act is a gift,” DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Cynthia J. Becker told Moss. “Now understand that the other guy hasn’t been caught.”

Hamed, 38, was arrested in March 2010 and released on $10,000 bond with the promise that he would cooperate with the Secret Service. But Hamed instead fled and is being sought by authorities, DeKalb County Assistant District Attorney Jeanne Canavan told Becker.

“I feel like I was left holding the bag,” Moss said following Monday’s arraignment.

Dear said that Moss was willing to testify against Hamed if asked, even though doing so isn’t a stipulation of her sentence.

Canavan said Hamed convinced Moss to let him buy gift cards with the senator’s stolen credit card, "even sometimes when he didn’t have the card,” Canavan said in court.

According to police, Hamed and another person came into the store several times between Jan. 1 and Jan 10, 2010, and bought gift cards, always at a register where Moss was working.

Hamed would leave several gift cards on the counter when he departed the store, Canavan said.

Police arrested Moss at the store in February 2010, and she was released on $12,000 bond after spending three days in jail, according to jail records.

“When she was arrested, she told police, ‘I don’t really know this guy, but he’s in my phone,’” Canavan told Decker. “His number was listed under ‘GC’ for gift card.”

But Hamed’s involvement stretched farther than just the store where Moss worked, authorities said. First Hawaiian Bank officials told police that Inouye’s Mastercard account was used at other Wal-Mart locations.

Also, when police searched Hamed’s hotel room before he was arrested, they found documentation showing he had just deposited two checks worth more than $100,000 into a bank account, Canavan said in court. The checks were counterfeited from a New York-based non-profit, she said.

Also in the hotel room were a computer, a re-encoding machine for making counterfeit credit cards, Wal-Mart and American Express gift cards and stolen debit cards, Canavan said.