Debit card scam affected Dominican entrepreneurs and artists

Santo Domingo.– The international ring that stole US$45 million in 27 countries through ATM operations, also cloned the cards of businessmen and celebrities from the Dominican Republic, the National Police said.

U.S. officials said Thursday that the scam had a branch in New York City, composed of Dominicans, whose alleged leader, identified as Alberto Yusi Lajud Peña, 23, was killed on April 27 in a house in San Francisco de Macoris.

Investigators found US$100,000 in cash in the house, as well as an M-16 assault rifle, two 9 mm pistols, a revolver, ammunition clips and a telescopic sight. The money and weapons belonged to Lajud-Pena, police said.