Las Vegas police say they found forgery lab during traffic stop
A Las Vegas police traffic stop led to the discovery of a complex forgery lab capable of producing fake credit cards and other financial documents, authorities said.
A patrol officer stopped a Volkswagen with expired California tags about 3:40 a.m. on April 13 at Las Vegas and Silverado Ranch boulevards.
Police found five people inside the car, and four were not wearing seat belts. One woman in the car said the driver, Robert Osborne, 55, had picked her up so she could help draft “quit claims and powers of attorney,” according to an arrest report for Osborne.
A man in the vehicle told police that “he deals in narcotics, specifically pills and ‘B,’ (which) is a street term for black tar heroin,” according to the report. Police looked on the man’s phone and found “numerous photographs of (credit) card numbers from a card generation app.”
Police searched the vehicle and found a fake $100 bill and notebook paper “with credit card information and drug paraphernalia throughout the vehicle,” the arrest report states.
They also found handwritten notes regarding power of attorney and living trusts. Police said they found one note with a notary stamp on it from a legitimate notary, but when questioned, Osborne said the notary would not have known that his name was being used on a legal document.
“In the trunk of the vehicle, officers located several bags, a laptop and computer printer,” according to Osborne’s arrest report. “In bags, officers found blank credit cards, embossing seal, fake credit cards and a notebook with credit card numbers and instructions on how to create false documents.”
When police questioned Osborne, according to the report, his primary response to questions was: “I need help.”
Police arrested Osborne and a woman in the car, Nicole M. Riley, 32. They each are charged with establishing or possessing a financial forgery lab with intent to commit an unlawful act.
Las Vegas Justice Court records show that in February an arrest warrant was issued for Riley on the same charge in a separate case.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
