Sarasota, Florida -- A woman is on the loose Wednesday night while her sister is behind bars after deputies say the two stole clients credit card information and turned around to use it to fund inmate accounts at two local jails.
Now the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office worries there may be more victims.
"We were very frustrated," says a victim.
Deputies say the man, who does not want to be identified, is one of Christina Martindale's victims.
"We stopped at the gas station to fill up our boat."
Martindale was a cashier at the Sunoco on Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota where the victim went inside, and used his debit card not knowing that she was using it as well.
"Later that evening, I got a call saying there was a fraud alert," he said.
But where the money was being used, shocked the victim even more.
"They charged $100 each time for some GTL inmate phone company," he said.
Martindale was arrested. She posted bond.
"As we were investigating that case, we received different leads from people who saw fraudulent charges on their credit card statement that said,either a GTL or GPS acronym, which turned out to either be phone system in Manatee County jail or commissary in Sarasota County jail," says Wendy Rose, with the Sarasota sheriff.
Rose says the only thing the new victims had in common was Horse Adventures LCC, a horse-back riding business on 4031 Murdoch Ave., in Sarasota. The business is owned by Martindale's mother.
"We're not talking about skimming or credit card fraud, we're talking about somebody that took advantage of their customers," says Rose.
Deputies say her sister, Heather Smith, was also helping out by transferring money to Martindale's boyfriend, Darryl Hall, who was already in jail.
"They were just writing down people's credit card numbers and using it for their own enjoyment," says Rose.
And that's what frustrates this victim even more.
"You're very cautious who you're going to give your card to," he said.
The Sarasota sheriff's office worries there may be more victims. Anyone who may have booked with Horse Adventures needs to check their credit card statement, and it they see a transaction with the acronyms GTL or GPS need to call the sheriffs office at (941) 861-5800.
