Are You a Victim in Bethlehem Fraud Scheme?

Bethlehem police have arrested three area residents - Francisco Rodriguez-Ayala, Melissa Ramos and Giovanni Guridy - in what appears to be a massive fraud scheme that involves 130 identified victims and over $275,000 in stolen checks. All are in jail because of inability to post $500,000 bail, which a preliminary hearing tentatively set for Friday.

A search warrant revealed this trio in possession of counterfeiting devices as well as a notebook withe the names and social security numbers of numerous individuals, from which false identities were created to set up fraudulent accounts and make purchases. They also discovered items that had been stolen from area vehicles.

If you believe you might be a victim of this identity theft scheme, Northampton County DA's office is recommending that you call Bethlehem police at 610-997-7682.