Five individuals from Florida were arrested Thursday after authorities uncovered a sophisticated ATM fraud operation involving stolen debit and credit card information.

At around 10:00 a.m. on April 24, the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department received a report of a suspicious person making fraudulent ATM withdrawals in Pearl. Investigators conducting surveillance observed a Black male riding a scooter repeatedly between a nearby hotel and the ATM, carrying out multiple transactions.

Following the surveillance, investigators obtained search warrants from Rankin County Justice Court and launched a takedown operation at the hotel. Five suspects were detained without incident and later identified as Caesar Allen, Lashuntavia Dequanna Mathis, Takya Princess Mathis, Gary Louis Coley, and Percy James Williams.

The suspects now face multiple felony charges related to fraudulent transactions and are being held without bond at the Rankin County Detention Center pending their initial court appearances.

During the operation, authorities recovered multiple Visa gift cards, a credit/debit card encoding machine, and approximately $5,700 in cash. Investigators believe the suspects used the encoding device to imprint stolen card information onto gift cards, which were then used to withdraw cash.

The Rankin County Sheriff’s Office extended thanks to the Pearl Police Department for their assistance. Officials noted the investigation remains active, with the possibility of additional arrests and charges.