Orangetree man faces 21 charges for vehicle burglary, credit card fraud

An Orangetree man in jail facing charges of credit card fraud was faced on Thursday with almost two dozen more felony charges related to fraud and theft.

According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, William Collins, 32, faces 21 fraud- and theft-related charges in connection with a vehicle burglary in May. Detectives say Collins broke into a vehicle in a Bonita Springs community early on May 13. Multiple credit cards belonging to the victim were stolen from inside the vehicle.

By the time the victim discovered the theft, she was already receiving alerts from her banks of fraudulent uses on her cards. One of those was for two Venmo transactions in which detectives say Collins attempted to transfer $350 to his account from the victim’s debit card. The victim’s cards were also used at Walmart, Lowe’s and Home Depot.

Surveillance video from all of the businesses shows Collins making numerous purchases with the victim’s cards, including a $900 gold necklace and matching bracelet and a $415 big-screen TV. Further investigation found Collins later pawned the gold necklace and bracelet set.

CSO says Collins is a convicted felon with an extensive criminal history for fraud in Collier County. He was already in the Collier County jail on similar charges when detectives served him with 21 new charges Thursday. Detectives say additional charges are pending from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for the vehicle burglary.