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Cabbie Caught With Bag of More Than 50 Credit Cards, Prosecutors Say

By Erica Demarest | November 14, 2014 4:51pm | Updated on November 17, 2014 8:44am
 Authorities said Omar Asemgar orchestrated a bogus credit card scheme to rip off passengers.
Authorities said Omar Asemgar orchestrated a bogus credit card scheme to rip off passengers.
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Creative Commons/Mark Tarlock

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A cab driver was charged with identity theft this week after prosecutors said he stole passengers' credit cards and replaced them with lookalike cards pinched from other victims.

According to prosecutors, Omar Asemgar had a bag with "at least 50 credit cards" used to trick passengers into thinking they were getting their own cards back.

Asemgar, 51, of the 2600 block of West Jarlath Street in West Ridge, was charged with identity theft and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors said the Yellow Taxi cab driver stole credit cards from 15 people between June 2012 and November 2014.

When passengers paid by credit card, Asemgar would pocket the card and hand back something that looked very similar, according to prosecutors. Asemgar allegedly carried a bag with at least 50 credit cards in varying colors from different banks.

Prosecutors believe some of the cards were stolen from previous victims. When Asemgar was done using a card, prosecutors said, he'd add it to the bag and later give it to a different victim.

Court records show that Asemgar charged hundreds of dollars to the cards. He took cards from passengers dropped off in Uptown, North Center, Downtown, Lakeview and the Gold Coast, among others.

In court Friday, Judge James Brown ordered Asemgar held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

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