Two charged in $17,000 credit card scam

An ex-convict and an accomplice remained in DuPage County Jail in Wheaton on Thursday night, accused of creating credit cards they used in stealing or trying to steal more than $17,000 worth of merchandise from a Naperville home improvement store.

Gregory L. Butler and Danny L. Collins, both of Chicago, face trial on felony charges of possession of counterfeited credit cards, Naperville police Cmdr. Mike Anders confirmed Thursday.

Collins, 52, and Butler, 47, were arrested about 1:25 p.m. Monday, after police were called to the Home Depot store at 2920 Audrey Ave. on the city's far west side.

Anders said an employee recognized them as the men who had allegedly defrauded the store several days earlier using phony credit cards. Police confronted them as they were allegedly trying to purchase an expensive tool and several store gift cards, Anders said.

Both Butler and Collins carried what appeared to be "Green Dot Gold" Visa credit cards, Anders said. Each card was embossed with the suspect's name and an account number, and each had a magnetic strip across its back, he said.

Police quickly determined the account numbers "belonged to someone out of state" who did not know either Collins or Butler, Anders said.

The store merchandise the men allegedly acquired last week, coupled with the tool and gift cards they tried to buy Monday, totaled more than $17,000.

Anders credited Home Depot and Chase Bank employees with helping them to arrest Butler and Collins.

Records on file in DuPage County Circuit Court indicated Collins served jail or prison time on a charge of theft by deception. That stemmed from a September 2004 incident in Elk Grove Village, records showed.

Collins is being held on a $100,000 bond, as is expected to appear Nov. 24 in court. Butler's bond has been set at $30,000, and he is due to appear Tuesday for a preliminary court hearing.