Fast-food employee accused of stealing credit cards

Maricopa Police arrested Daja Cooper, 19, on allegations of credit card theft, fraudulent use and receipt of item with a stolen credit card.

Back in September, a woman had contacted MPD to report the theft of her credit card as well as the fraudulent use of the credit card. The woman stated she last had the card in her possession at Wendy’s on John Wayne Parkway.

A similar report was taken around the same time period, with another card being stolen and used at Circle K and QuikTrip. Surveillance footage from both locations identified the suspect using the stolen credit cards as a woman named “Daja” based off a name tag she wore with her Wendy’s employee uniform.

Police proceeded to contact Wendy’s management and were able to identify the only employee named Daja was in fact, Daja Cooper. Officers additionally confirmed that Cooper was working at the time the credit cards involved in fraudulent charges were stolen.

Officers arrived at Cooper’s home with a search warrant and interviewed her about the stolen credit cards. Cooper allegedly admitted to stealing four separate credit cards and could only remember the name of the original victim who called MPD.

Cooper told police that she had attempted to shop online at DHSGATE.com for women’s shoes totaling $494.23. The purchase was declined, however, which allowed police to confirm it had come from the original stolen credit card report.

In another report received by MPD, another alleged victim saw a similar charge from DHSGATE.com attempting to purchase Dolce & Gabanna brand shoes. During the interview, Cooper confirmed the brand of shoe as well as the color and seller, stating the shoes were never delivered but the information was consistent with what was provided by the victim’s credit card company.

The credit card company also determined the ZIP code used was the same as Cooper’s, who used a fake last name for the order. Cooper also allegedly admitted to purchasing a digital camera with one of the credit cards and had it in her possession.

Police recovered the camera and placed Daja Cooper under arrest and booked her into Pinal County Jail. Pinal County Attorney’s office charged her twice in separate cases Oct. 24 with theft of a credit card.