Payless Employee Arrested on Grand Larceny Charges

A Freeport man was arrested on Grand Larceny charges after it was discovered he had been using an electronic device to obtain credit card information from 11 customers while employed at Payless Shoe Source on Merrick Road.

According to detectives, Javier Acosta, 26, used a skimming device while working as a cashier that that scans the magnetic strip and security information from a credit card. He then downloaded personal information from 11 customers and created duplicate cards.

Acosta allegedly used the cards to make illegal purchases, causing Citibank to suffer a loss of $10,764.81. 

Acosta was arrested on June 10 by Crimes and Property Squad detectives. Recovered from the defendant's vehicle were a credit card printer, 15 blank, white plastic credit cards and a skimming device "wedge" and cord. Police also found a re-encoded bank card with Acosta's name imprinted on it.

He is being charged with Grand Larceny 3rd Degree-Property, Possession of a Forged Device, Identity Theft 1st Degree, three counts of Identity Theft 2nd Degree. He will be arraigned later today in First District Court in Hempstead.