Man convicted of credit card fraud

A Los Angeles man arrested at South Coast Plaza in August has been convicted of stealing credit cards from the elderly.

Doren Harold Ward, 37, was convicted last week of six felonies, including charges of aggravated identity theft, bank fraud and credit card fraud, according to the federal Department of Justice and Costa Mesa police.

He faces a maximum sentence of 104 years in federal prison. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a two-year, mandatory sentence, federal authorities said.

Costa Mesa police arrested Ward at South Coast Plaza in 2011 after he tried to buy a Rolex watch using a fake ID and a stolen credit card, Lt. Tim Schennum wrote in an email.

Police said Ward tried to flee after an employee discovered the card was stolen and called police, but was caught and taken into custody. Costa Mesa police contacted and worked with federal authorities, who prosecuted an overarching case, Schennum wrote.

Federal authorities said Ward took control of about a dozen credit cards in a conspiracy involving British members of the fraud scheme who would allegedly impersonate cardholders and ask for replacement credit cards to be sent to different Southern California drop locations.

The Britons told credit card companies they were traveling in Southern California and would be making large purchases, according to the Department of Justice.

Ward and others picked up the new credit cards, and, using the fake IDs, tried to buy more than $250,000 in luxury items from Louis Vuitton, Ben Bridge Jeweler, Gearys and Rolex.

lauren.williams@latimes.com

Twitter: @lawilliams30