2 arrested, accused of credit card fraud at Osceola County Jail

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — A timeshare telemarketer and her boyfriend have been arrested and charged with two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, according to Osceola County sheriff's investigators.

On Tuesday, investigators said Christy Meleah Poppleton and James Robert Rowland, both of Kissimmee, were arrested following an investigation that began in June.

Rowland was already in jail at the time.

The investigation began when Osceola County Corrections Department employees told detectives Rowland was purchasing items from the jail commissary using stolen credit cards.

Sheriff's investigators said Poppleton, who works as a telemarketer for a timeshare call center, would keep credit card information she received from clients buying timeshares.

Investigators said Poppleton would call up her boyfriend and ask him how much money he and his fellow inmates wanted put into their commissary accounts.

"Detectives discovered there are 11 confirmed victims, so there are additional charges pending, but they're also investigating a possible 40 other victims as well," Twis Lizasuain with the Osceola County Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies said the corrections department discovered what was going on when they noticed a man named Bob Smith was sending money to several inmates. Once they started investigating they zeroed in on Poppleton.

"This is an ongoing investigation and there will be more charges as soon as detectives are able to talk to more victims," Lizasuain said.

Lizasuain said victims may not even know their credit card information was used.

WFTV