FedEx delivery led to Jackson wedding planner's arrest for credit card fraud

A Jackson businessman with a taste for expensive wine, home furnishings and art is in the Cape Girardeau County Jail on a credit card fraud charge.

Michael J. Erzfeld, owner of the wedding planning firm Custom Events, faces one felony charge and investigators with the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department intend to ask for at least five more counts to be added to the list. Erzfeld has been held with a $5,000 cash-only bond since being charged Nov. 26.

A preliminary hearing in the case is set for Dec. 23.

Deputies had received tips of a credit card scam at several times during the year, but the leads were difficult to trace, Sgt. Eric Friedrich and Deputy Heather Van Gennip said Wednesday in a joint interview at the sheriff's office. In at least one case, the credit card company in June removed a $3,000 charge from luxury home furnishings retailer Restoration Hardware from the account of someone who had been scammed.

Erzfeld came to the attention of investigators after an anonymous caller reported that Erzfeld was bragging about the ease of having items delivered to bogus addresses. On Nov. 25, Neil Conrad of Jackson called the sheriff's department to report that he received a call from FedEx asking if he had received a shipment of wine worth $1,132.48 from Schug Carneros Estate Winery in Sonoma, Calif. Conrad, who had already told his credit card company Bank of America that he did not place the order when the bank checked on the charge days earlier, told FedEx that he did not order any wine.

The FedEx driver, Jay McMullin, had delivered the wine to Deerfield Lodge on County Road 313. Erzfeld, who the deputies said McMullin identified in a photo line up, signed for the wine and awaited the delivery in his blue pickup truck. Deerfield Lodge was closed and McMullin recorded Erzfeld's license plate number and telephone number, Friedrich said.

In a search of Erzfeld's home at 1384 Greenleaf Ave., deputies found the wine, packages from Restoration Hardware, linen-backed Andy Warhol prints from a French art dealer and authenticated photos of the late Duke and Duchess of Windsor. They believe Erzfeld also purchased a $3,000 crystal champagne bucket and an $800 brown crystal elephant with pink polkadots using stolen credit card or personal information.

Some of those items have not been seized because they need to verify what in the house was purchased illegally, Friedrich said.

"Our dilemma is that there are some things in the house that we don't know who it belongs to," he said.

The original call from June was viewed as a mix-up until the anonymous tip, Friedrich said.

Deputies also seized a box of forms from Erzfeld's time teaching a course for the Cape Girardeau Real Estate School that they believe he used a source for credit card numbers and expiration dates needed to purchase from online retailers.

They also believe there may be many more victims that have not contacted law enforcement. "It is probably necessary to" seek publicity "now or wait for it to leak in over the next six months," Friedrich said.

A call to Erzfeld's cell phone was not answered.

Two victims in the scam, Conrad and real estate broker Debra Duffy, praised the sheriff's department, the credit companies and McMullin for helping end the scam.

Conrad said he first became aware of the problem when Bank of America called about a charge on a card he had not used for at least two months. He knew Erzfeld because Conrad worked as a real estate appraiser and Erzfeld operated Custom Mortgage in Cape Girardeau. Conrad said he took a real estate course from Erzfeld.

"I am a little taken aback," he said. "I did have a little bit of a professional relationship with him and I didn't think he'd pull something like this."

A previous attempt at a scam was stopped six months ago when Pottery Barn called Conrad and asked him about a new charge account that had been opened and used to the maximum credit limit the same day. He's not certain Erzfeld was responsible but said, "I would be a little curious to know."

Duffy said the attempt to scam her was stopped when Brooks Brothers, an iconic American clothing line, called to ask about a new charge account and an order for a $398 purse and a blouse that brought the total to about $600.

Duffy said she paid cash for her real estate course but that Erzfeld had access to her Social Security number and date of birth from her license application. She is reviewing four years of credit card bills for any suspicious purchases that she has overlooked, Duffy said.

"I am thankful for the sales clerks from that store who just thought it was funny that someone applied for a credit card and maxed out the credit limit right away," Duffy said.

McMullin, who was last in the news when he pulled Odell Bunch from a pickup truck during the March floods, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Sally Davenport, a spokesman for FedEx, said deliveries made to obviously empty homes or closed businesses are "going to raise suspicions."

She declined to talk about specific security training for drivers because of the need to keep some secrets from scammers.

Conrad said he is happy with the actions of his bank, the sheriff's department and McMullin.

"All parties concerned went above and beyond the call of duty," he said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

3888-3642