Johnston Police Arrest Providence Woman on Credit Card Fraud Charges

A Providence woman faces credit card fraud charges after Johnston Police investigated a pair of charges made with someone else's credit card.

Yolanda Pelliccia, 29, of 19 Woonasquatucket Ave., was suspected of using the credit card of a Johnston resident to place an online order to FootLocker, and to buy gas and gift cards at a local gas station and buy merchandise from Burlington Coat Factory on Atwood Avenue.

Ptlm. Adam Parkinson first spoke with the victim at police headquarters on July 15, and learned that the man had received a post card from FootLocker referring to an order placed online.

When the man contacted the store, he said employees informed him of $400 in charges made to his credit card, Parkinson reported. The man said he'd never shopped at the store and did not make the charges.

After that incident, the man said he then went to his bank to check the recent history of his card.

Parkinson noted that the man found the two Johnston charges, and learned that his card had also been used at websites for T-Mobile, Beyond Menu, and Wal-Mart.

The victim, who identified Pelliccia as his girlfriend's neice, told Parkinson that he'd let Pelliccia use his credit card to pay for a nursing license, and suspected that she'd written down his information to use the card.

Parkinson also referred the victim to Rhode Island State Police for investigation to the other charges.

Detective Anthony Sasso later interviewed employees of the two Johnston businesses where the fraudulent charges had been made. On June 16, Sasso spoke with Joseph Najm, owner of Johnston Gas at 1209 Hartford Ave. and learned that Najm remembered the transaction.

Najm said that Pelliccia charged $34 in gas and $60 in a cash advance to the victim's credit card, using a "piece of scrap paper" to present the information to him, according to Sasso's report.

Sasso also noted that Najm provided officers with the registration plate of Pelliccia's car, and that he identified Pelliccia from a photo lineup.

Johnston Police then issued a warrant for her arrest.

A check at the Burlington Coat Factory found that surveillance footage of Pelliccia's transaction was not available, Sasso noted.

On Aug. 9, Parkinson reported that he went with another officer to the Pawtucket Police Department after officers there had arrested Pelliccia on the warrant issued by the local department.

At about 7 p.m., officers presented Pelliccia for arraignment before a justice of the peace. She was released on $5,000 personal recognizance until an Aug. 21 hearing.

No information about the recent hearing had been posted online by publication of this article.