A man who claimed to be a music group promoter rode in stretch limousine from South Carolina to New Jersey and back.



In the end, it looks like the limousine company was taken for a ride.



The well-dressed man in his mid-20s to early 30s used a credit card belonging to a North Charleston man who thinks his identity was stolen. And the three-day trip just before Christmas left Legend Limousines and Tours with an unpaid tab of almost $8,900.



Charleston police are investigating it as a case of credit card fraud.



'I don't know how he got my credit card numbers,' said the card owner, a man in his mid-50s who asked that his name not be used. 'I had my credit card in my wallet. He even had my three-digit security code.'



The long ride in the Ford Excursion stretch limousine began on Dec. 22, a day after a man called the West Ashley company to make reservations, according to a report filed Jan. 24 with Charleston police. A driver went to the airport in Florence to pick up the customer.



The lone passenger told the chauffeur he represented a music group called The Remarkables. Several other people involved with the group decided to fly to New Jersey instead, he explained.



The chauffeur and passenger stayed two nights at a hotel in Elizabeth, N.J., the report states. The passenger paid cash for his room, but used the driver's credit card to secure phone privileges, racking up calls to a county jail in Trenton, N.J.



On Dec. 23, the chauffeur drove the man to clubs, restaurants and what was supposedly an aunt's house, the report states. On Dec. 24, the driver took the man back to South Carolina, where he tried unsuccessfully to locate a friend in Bennettsville. The limo finally dropped him off at a Super 8 Motel near Interstate 95 in Dillon.



The man whose credit card was used said he thinks his information may have been stolen by a man who stayed at his house for several days in late December, immediately before the interstate limousine ride.



One day when the man returned to his home on Stall Road from work, the house guest was gone. Along with him, nearly $8,000 in computer and camera equipment had disappeared.



He said he met the man on the Internet. In the end, he didn't even know his name.



'This whole thing has been a nightmare,' he said. 'I blame myself for the whole thing. I was stupid enough to let a complete stranger stay in my house - I don't even know who.'







Reach Noah Haglund at 937-5550 or at nhaglund@postandcourier.com

What a jackass, both of 'em.

Rofl, uh.. if that was me, you'd see me with a big downpayment on a new FD or something.

DR HO!