Credit card fraud alleged in suspect's payment of bail at Ramsey County jail


A gangster escaped from jail in a way that longtime cops say they've never seen — apparently through credit card fraud.

The Ramsey County sheriff's office contends that Corey Nathan Hobbs, 24, of St. Paul, posted bail with a credit card number stolen by his sister, a U.S. Bank employee, according to an affidavit for a search warrant.

The net started closing on Hobbs shortly after he was released from the Ramsey County Jail on Monday.

A Ramsey County sheriff's analyst was conducting routine monitoring of recordings made from jail phones and heard something potentially incriminating, according to the affidavit.

Hobbs was talking to his sister, Candace Ann Hobbs, and asked why the first credit card — which Corey Hobbs told a bail bondsman belonged to his grandmother — she used to post bail had been declined.

"She states that it is probably because they charged so much on it," the affidavit said. The second card she used was accepted. "Candace then goes on to state the credit card she used is OK as the people left for Jamaica the day before."

Signs posted at the jail phones say conversations are recorded, and inmates and the person they're calling hear a recorded message saying as much before calls are connected, said sheriff's office Director Steve Lydon, who oversees the East Metro Real-time Information Center and the career criminal unit.

Both credit cards were U.S. Bank accounts and the one used to post bail belongs to a man who lives in Kansas, the affidavit said. Candace Hobbs, who hasn't been arrested but is under investigation, worked in customer service for U.S. Bank and "as part of her job function, would have routine access to credit card information," the affidavit said.

Candace Hobbs, 25, of St. Paul, has been terminated from her job, U.S. Bank spokesman Steve Dale said Friday. He said the bank is cooperating with police and added, "I can assure you that no customer lost any money as a result of anything."

The sheriff's analyst heard the conversation between the Hobbs siblings about one hour after Corey Hobbs had posted bail and been released, said Sgt. Joann Springer. How Candace Hobbs knew the credit card holder was in Jamaica and how she selected him is part of the investigation, and Springer declined to talk about them.

Springer, who has worked at the sheriff's office for more than 28 years, said she had never seen a case like this.

"They're getting more ingenious, unfortunately," Springer said.

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