Chicago man charged in identity theft scheme

A Chicago man is being held on $300,000 bond after being charged with stealing information from the credit cards of shoppers at retail stores.

Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Steven Scheller said Marcus Robles, 33, was operating in the Vernon Hills area between July and last month.

Scheller said Robles had a device capable of reading the identity and account information encrypted in the magnetic strip of credit cards.

Robles would pay clerks at retail stores to swipe their customers' credit cards into the machine, Scheller said, then later transferred the stolen information onto credit cards in his own name.

Vernon Hills police obtained a security camera video of Robles making a purchase with stolen credit card information and circulated it throughout the area.

Scheller said a clerk at a Gurnee store recognized Robles as he attempted to make a purchase Friday and called police.

Vernon Hills police took Robles into custody and said he gave them a full confession, Scheller said.

The investigation is continuing and others may be involved in the scheme, Scheller said.

Robles faces a prison sentence of up to 15 years if convicted, Scheller said. He is due to appear Friday in court.