Columbus restaurant server arrested on charges of using customer cards for fraud
A server at a national restaurant chain franchise in Columbus has been arrested after allegedly using customer payment cards for thousands of dollars worth of fraudulent transactions.
The Columbus Police Department announced Wednesday that its investigation resulted in criminal charges against three people:
- Deshaun Peralta, 20 – financial transaction card theft, two counts of financial transaction card fraud, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and theft by receiving a firearm.
- A 17-year-old – theft by receiving a firearm.
- Yasmin Peralta, 40 – theft by receiving a firearm.
A Recorder’s Court hearing for the suspects is scheduled for Sept. 11 at 1:30 p.m.
During the past several weeks, investigators received reports of fraudulent bank card use. The investigation led to the identification of a suspect, Deshaun Peralta, who was employed as a server at LongHorn Steakhouse on Macon Road in Columbus, according to CPD.
“Detectives determined that Peralta had been photographing customer bank card numbers while processing payments and using that information to funnel thousands of dollars to himself in a variety of ways,” a news release from CPD says.
Tuesday, officers with the CPD Property Crimes Unit, assisted by members of the Special Victims and Violent Crimes units, executed a search warrant at Peralta’s residence, police said. During the search, investigators recovered a money counter, 47.2 grams of marijuana, several cellphones and an AR-15 rifle that had been reported stolen.
As a result, Peralta, his brother and mother were taken into custody, police said.
“At this time, investigators have identified multiple victims, and additional charges are expected as the investigation continues,” the news release says.
CPD public information officer Brittany Santiago told the Ledger-Enquirer she doesn’t know the exact number of customers who had their cards compromised in this case, but she said it is “dozens” and she would try to get that number and the specific time period.
Orlando-based Darden Restaurants, which owns LongHorn, emailed the following reply to the Ledger-Enquirer’s questions Thursday:
“We have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to a situation like this,” said Darden spokesman Rich Jeffers. “As soon as we were alerted by the authorities, we cooperated fully with their investigation and took swift and appropriate action. The individual involved no longer works for us.”.
CPD encourages anyone who believes they may have been affected by these financial transactions to call the department’s Property Crimes Unit at 706-225-3151.
This story was originally published September 11, 2025 at 10:14 AM.
