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Timeline: How Gators' credit card fraud case unfolded
Nine suspended Florida football players could face felony charges. They are, top row from the left, Antonio Callaway, Keivonnis Davis, James Houston IV, Ventrell Miller and Rick Wells, and, bottom row from left, Jordan Scarlett, Jordan Smith, Kadeem Telfort and Richerd Desir-Jones. The investigation into alleged credit card fraud took another step Monday when sworn complaint affidavits against the nine previously suspended University of Florida football players revealed the possibility of a combined 62 third-degree felony charges.
With the UPD investigation complete, the State Attorney's office will decide whether to file charges against the nine Gators who racked up a combined $17,056.31 in fraudulent charges.
If you haven't followed the case up to this point, this timeline, based on sworn complaints, will help you catch up on how the investigation began, the evidence outlined in the sworn affidavits and what might happen next.
The investigation begins
On Aug. 15, the University of Florida Police Department responded to an alert from UF Business Services Division Associate Director David Looney and electronic technician Michael Chambers about two students adding unusually high amounts (more than $1,500) to their UF bookstore pre-paid accounts. Students typically added $300 at most at one time for textbooks, the sworn complaint said.
Looney informed officers that the two accounts had also received multiple "chargebacks" over the previous couple months, which is when the cardholder disputes the charge after the purchase. Looney explained that the bookstore typically saw about five chargebacks a year, and any more than that raised eyebrows. UPD learned that one account belonged to Gators defensive end Jordan Smith, with the other belonging to Sarita Francis, the girlfriend of UF running back Jordan Scarlett.
From there, the investigation found similar transactions from accounts belonging to seven other Gators football players: Antonio Callaway, Keivonnis Davis, Richerd Desir-Jones, James Houston, Ventrell Miller, Kadeem Telfort and Rick Wells.
Over the next five weeks, further investigation revealed a total of 15 stolen credit cards, with multiple players possessing illegally obtained identification information from people who told investigators they had never met any of the nine UF players.
A timeline of fraudulent charges
Based on the criminal complaints, the fraudulent charges began at the end of June and spanned until mid-August.
JUNE 26 – Kadeem Telfort makes four unsuccessful attempts to add $500+ to his UF bookstore debit account before successfully adding $650 to his account from a credit card belonging to Samuel E. Nelson from Hoschton, Georgia. The next day, Telfort purchases a iPad from the UF bookstore for $424.94. Nelson disputed the charge as fraudulent, later informing investigators he did not know any UF students.
JUNE 30 – Rick Wells Jr. successfully adds $875 to his UF Bookstore debit account using a credit card belonging to Michael Smith. Later that day, Wells goes to the UF Bookstore and purchases two Apple iPads. The total for the order was $849.97. At checkout, the clerk accidentally charged Wells' UAA scholarship account instead of his UF Bookstore account. Management at the store later contacted Wells and requested the items be returned, as he was barred from purchasing electronic merchandise with his UAA scholarship account. Before he could return the iPads, however, management informed him they charged his UF Bookstore account and credited his scholarship account and that he was set.
JULY 1 – Telfort adds $500 to his UF bookstore account by using a credit card belonging to a man named Michael Smith. Later that day, Telfort goes back to the UF bookstore and purchases an iPad Mini. He also purchases AppleCare, bringing the total purchase to $509.07. Smith disputed the charges as fraudulent.
JULY 5 – Telfort adds $300 to his UF Bookstore account by using a credit card belonging to Patrick Baxter of Oakland, California. Later that day, Telfort purchases $150 in Sony PlayStation gift cards. Telfort also travels to the UF bookstore and purchases an iPad for $424.94. He also returns the iPad Mini and receives a refund of $478.00.
JULY 16 – Antonio Callaway successfully adds $1,970 to his UF Bookstore debit account using a credit card belonging to James Sturiale of Carlsbad, California. Sturiale disputed the charge as fraudulent and later told investigators he did not know anyone at UF.
JULY 17 – Callaway goes to the UF Bookstore and purchases a MacBook Pro, with a pair of Beats Solo 3 Wireless Headphones included at no additional charge. The total for the order was $2,022.44 – Callaway used the $1,970 in his UF Bookstore debit account along with $60 in cash to complete the purchase.
JULY 18 – Jordan Smith successfully adds $1,970 to his UF bookstore debit account using a credit card belonging to Mauricio Renazco from Fishers, Indiana. Renazco disputed the charge as fraudulent. Later that day, Smith purchases a MacBook Pro, and uses a coupon for Beat Solo 3 Wireless Headphones at no extra charge. The total for the order was $1,809.44
JULY 21 – Ventrell Miller adds $1,970 to his UF Bookstore Debit account using a credit card belonging to Kristen Battaile of Carlsbad, California. Later that day, Miller goes to the UF Bookstore and purchases a Apple MacBook Pro with Beats Solo 3 Wireless Headphones included. The total for the order was $1,330.19.
James Houston adds $550 to his UF Bookstore debit account using a credit card belonging to Patrick Baxter of Oakland, California. Paxter disputed the charge as fraudulent. Later that day, Houston goes to the UF Bookstore and purchases an Apple iPad. The total order was $424.94.
Richerd Desir-Jones added $1,970 to his UF Bookstore debit account using a credit card belonging to Battaile. Later that day, Desir-Jones goes to the UF Bookstore and purchases an Apple MacBook Pro, with a pair of Beats Solo 3 Wireless Headphones included at no extra cost, and a USB-C to USB adapter. The total for the order was $1,829.67.
JULY 23 – Jordan Scarlett adds $1,940 to Sarita Francis' UF Bookstore debit account using a credit card belonging to Gabriel Robinson of Carlsbad, California. Scarlett saved the credit card information to Francis' account. Another credit card, this one belonging to James Sturiale of Carlsbad, California, was also saved on Francis' UF Bookstore account.
JULY 24 – Smith attempts to add $1,000 to his UF Bookstore debit account, but he is unsuccessful.
JULY 26 – Francis and Scarlett purchase a MacBook Pro with Beats Solo 3 wireless headphones included at no extra cost with a coupon from the UF Bookstore using funds in Francis' account. The total for the order is $1,809.44. Robinson disputed the charge as fraudulent before the laptop could be shipped. Francis later returned the headphones to the UF Bookstore.
JULY 27 – Smith makes seven attempts to add money to his UF Bookstore debit account before successfully adding $800 from a credit card belonging to Toshihiro Yoshida from Tustin, California. Yoshida disputed the charge as fraudulent.
JULY 28 — Keivonnis Davis successfully adds $800 to his UF Bookstore debit account using a credit card belonging to William Battle. Five minutes later, Davis uses Battle's information to add $800 more to his UF Bookstore debit account. Later that day, Davis purchases a MacBook Pro, with Beats Solo 3 wireless headphones and a BoomStream Mini Bluetooth Speaker included at no extra cost with a coupon. The total for the order was $1,330.20.
JULY 31 – Smith successfully adds $800 to his UF bookstore debit card using a credit card belonging to Adam Vinson of Dinwiddie, Virginia. Vinson disputed the charge as fraudulent and told investigators he never authorized anyone to use his card at UF. He also told investigators there were more fraudulent charges to his card in Gainesville.
AUG. 1 – Smith purchases a MacBook Air from the UF bookstore, and uses a coupon for a pair of Beats Solo 3 Wireless Headphones and a BoomStream Mini Bluetooth Speaker included for no extra charge. The total for the order was $1,117.20. Six minutes later, Smith purchases three pairs of Beats headphones from the UF bookstore for a total of $346.05.
AUG. 2 – Smith makes two payments to UF Transportation and Parking – for $940 and $510 – using a credit card belonging to Brad Kolean from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Kolean disputed the charge as fraudulent and told investigators there were more fraudulent charges to his card in Gainesville.
AUG. 8 – The UF bookstore begins receiving chargebacks for accounts belonging to Callaway and Telfort. Telfort makes a $300 payment to the UF bookstore to partially settle his account. Callaway pays $2,000 in cash to settle his account. Davis pays just $20 of the $1,330.20 chargeback to partially settle his account. It's unclear if Davis has settled his account.
AUG. 11 – Houston returns to the UF Bookstore and pays $424.94 to settle the chargebacks to his account. Desir-Jones returns to the Bookstore and pays $1,829.67 to settle chargebacks to his account.
AUG. 14 – Telfort makes $1,000 in payments to the UF bookstore to settle his account, but it did not settle it in full. In total, Telfort added a total of $1,450 using stolen credit cards to his UF bookstore debit account, while also using stolen credit cards to order a total of $89.48 at 352Delivery.
Miller goes back to the UF Bookstore and pays $1,330.19 to settle chargebacks to his account.
AUG. 15 – UPD responds to the UF Bookstore for possible fraud case initially involving Jordan Smith and Sarita Francis.
AUG. 17 – Smith is reported by the manager at The Woodlands apartment complex for using Vinson's credit card to zero out his sublease account before beginning his new lease a week prior. The Gainesville Police Department intends to charge Smith separately for this offense. His attorney, Michael Barberette, was told by UPD that his client had been referred to as the ringleader of the group. Barberette told investigators that was very disappointing to hear. Barberette was told it was unlikely UPD would suggest misdemeanor charges.
AUG. 22 – Wells speaks to UPD investigators, saying he was not involved in any fraud and that he purchased an iPad for himself and one for his girlfriend. He also showed UPD investigators the texts from the UF Bookstore saying he was all set. Wells was asked to bring his iPad to UPD to verify the serial number, to which he agreed. He provided pictures of the iPad and his girlfriend's information, but did not return with the iPad and did not return UPD phone calls.
AUG. 23 – Sarita Francis speaks to UPD investigators, telling officers she wasn't aware the credit card funding her account was stolen. Francis told investigators that her boyfriend, Jordan Scarlett, told her the money on her account was from an agent in New York. Scarlett requested Francis accompany him to the UF Bookstore to purchase a laptop using her account. Francis was later contacted by the UF Bookstore that the credit card holder had disputed the charge and the laptop would not be shipped. Francis told investigators she then confronted Scarlett about the account.
AUG. 30 – Jordan Scarlett speaks to UPD investigators, claiming the money was coming from an agent and that Smith had added the funds to Francis' debit UF Bookstore account. He said he used Francis' computer when she was not present to add the funds and that he "made a mistake because he thought he could get away with it."
SEPT. 13 – Telfort's attorney, the Miami-based Peter Schoenthal, calls the UPD and attempts to negotiate a decrease in charges. He informs investigators Telfort will not come to UPD for an interview and will not provide a statement. UPD's complaint recommends Telfort face 30 felony charges, including 13 counts of third-degree use of another person's credit card without consent, 12 counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, four counts of possession of a forged instrument and another count for fraudulent obtaining property valued under $20,000.
SEPT. 25 – Telfort's attorney, Peter Schoenthal, files a written plea of "not guilty" on Telfort's behalf.
What's Next?
The fate of the nine players now rests in the hands of the State Attorney's Office, which will likely need several weeks before reaching any conclusions. For several players, pre-trial diversion programs remain an option. It also remains a possibility that multiple players could see their charges reduced to misdemeanors.
A pre-trial diversion would allows to avoid a criminal record and jail time by completing tasks set forth by the State Attorney's Office. These could include community service hours and full restitution. Scarlett and Callaway have already completed pre-trial programs for previous misdemeanor charges, and it's likely they wouldn't be prohibited from completing programs for felony charges.
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