18 arrested in Florida for gift card and shoplifting scheme

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A Putnam County man is one of 18 people arrested in Florida in a gift card racketeering scheme in Volusia County.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi joined detectives Monday to reveal a months-long-investigation.

Deputies said the shoplifters stole merchandise from superstores, such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, Toys-R-US and more. The suspects would then return it to the stores in exchange for gift cards.

The gift cards were then sold at a business, Cash for Gift Cards, in Deltona and Daytona Beach, officials said.

Officials said the investigation, Operation Plastic Paradise, is ongoing and five additional arrests are expected.

Business owners Dale Chester Holcombe, 52, of Daytona and James Dale Holcombe, 27, of Ormond Beach are charged with racketeering and conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity.

Business employees facing charges include:

• Matthew Joseph Angell, 27, of Holly Hill is charged with two counts of dealing in stolen property.
• Paul Ronald Carpenella, Jr., 23, of Edgewater is charged with three counts of dealing in stolen property.
• William James Hooper, 23, of Ormond Beach is charged with three counts of dealing in stolen property.
• Michael Ryan Welch, 22, of Palatka is charged with a count of dealing in stolen property.

Theft groups charged with racketeering and conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity include:

• Blain Richard Conner, 28, of DeBary
• Tonja Sue Harris-Conner, 47, of DeBary
• Larry Gene Cooley II, 36, of Lake Helen
• Stephanie Ross Cooley, 60, of Lake Helen
• Barbara Latrell Gray, 32, of Deltona
• Kenneth Gordon Hafner, 54, of Sanford
• Nicole Marie Hanrahan, 30, of Lake Helen
• Erica Leigh Johnson, 28, of DeLand
• William Charles Kennerson III, 40, of DeLand
• Brian Michael Miller, 30, of Ormond Beach
• Roshell Devonne Osborne, 25, of Sanford
• Bruce Lenner Tiger, 33, of Deltona

WJAX