Detectives have nabbed a Grand Forks man accused of making almost $20,000 in purchases with credit card numbers obtained illegally.
The arrest of Douglas Ziegelmann, 18, led to searches that resulted in the recovery of about $15,000 in property, including a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse, computers, stereo equipment, various electronics, along with power and hand tools, according to a department release.
Sgt. Bill Macki said most of the seized property was bought using credit card numbers taken from an innocent third party. He would not say how the numbers were stolen or if Ziegelmann knew the alleged victim.
Police said Ziegelmann also attempted to put as much as $30,000 in fraudulent charges on the credit card tab of a second victim. That investigation is ongoing, and additional felony charges are possible. But Macki said it was too early to tell what those charges might be.
Investigators interviewed Ziegelmann on Tuesday and subsequently arrested him without incident. Macki would not disclose where the property was eventually recovered.
ADVERTISEMENT
He said no link exists between Ziegelmann and the rash of home burglaries in Grand Forks that was reported in Tuesday's Herald.
"So far at least, there's no connection between this and the residential burglaries we've had," Macki said.
Ziegelmann appeared in court Wednesday on a felony charge of property theft, and his bail was set at $5,000. He remained in custody as of Wednesday evening, according to a Grand Forks County jail spokesman.
A message left at the jail for Ziegelmann on Wednesday was not returned.
His next court date is set for Dec. 31.
Ziegelmann also is facing a property theft charge in Bismarck's Burleigh County for allegedly stealing a laptop from his former employer, according to the state's attorney handling the case. In that case, he's scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 8.
