2 suspects from northeast PA sought in retail theft that used cloned credit card at Berks Lowe’s

Two northeast Pennsylvania residents are wanted in a retail theft scheme that authorities say used a cloned credit card to purchase thousands of dollars in merchandise from a home improvement store in Berks County.

Tilden Township police in northern Berks County this week charged Henry Pena-Acosta, 29, of Scranton, Lackawanna County, and Lisania Diaz-Feliz, 25, of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, with felony counts of forgery, organized retail theft access device fraud, and related counts. A third, unidentified suspect was also involved, they said.

According to Tilden police:

The investigation began Sept. 22 when Lowe’s asset protection reported a fraudulent transaction that occurred July 17 at the Lowe’s off Route 61.

Pena-Acosta and the unidentified suspect arrived at the store at 4:14 p.m. in a rented Home Depot box truck. Investigators said the pair entered the store without merchandise and selected about $5,200 worth of items, including multiple water heaters and wood flooring products.

The suspects used a fraudulently obtained credit card belonging to a 47-year-old Pennsylvania woman to pay for the merchandise before loading the items into the truck and leaving. Surveillance footage captured the suspects loading the merchandise.

On Sept. 12, Lowe’s received a chargeback notice from the credit card company indicating the transaction was fraudulent. The retailer was subsequently required to reimburse the credit card issuer for the cost of the merchandise.

Investigators later determined that on July 16, Pena-Acosta and Diaz-Feliz traveled together to a Home Depot in Wilkes-Barre, where Diaz-Feliz rented the box truck used in the heist.

The Pennsylvania woman confirmed to investigators on Oct. 7 that she had been the victim of credit card fraud around the time of the incident and that her credit card had been cloned.

As part of the investigation, Tilden police contacted the Washington Township Police Department in Franklin County, located in southcentral Pennsylvania, which was investigating the same suspects in an organized retail theft case there.

Police said records from Home Depot showed Diaz-Feliz rented vehicles on multiple occasions, including May 3 in Bloomsburg, Columbia County, and on five days between June 26 and Aug. 1 in Wilkes-Barre. Investigators allege the rentals were used in furtherance of organized retail theft activities.

Authorities have issued active felony warrants for Pena-Acosta and Diaz-Feliz.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of either suspect or the identity of the third suspect is asked to contact Tilden Township police at 610-562-9001 or crimetips@tildentownship.com. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Crime Alert Berks at 877-373-9913.