Banks reject BBQ charges after residents’ cards missing in mail

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Trying to get their new credit and debit cards in the mail turned into an episode of Groundhog Day for the Nakhleh family.

Kat Nakhleh’s husband’s debit card expired, and his new one never arrived through U.S. Postal Service in August.

She said the card didn’t arrive at their home, and they got a text saying it was used at a barbecue restaurant that the couple had never heard of.

“We had never been to (it), so we thought fraud,” Nakhleh said.

About $3,000 in charges went through at the barbecue restaurant in August, according to Nakhleh’s bank records.

“You would have to be killing a whole cow,” she said.

But that’s not where it ended. Within the next month, Nakhleh said she lost her credit card and requested a replacement one from her bank to be mailed through USPS.

“(The card) gets shipped in the mail, that one gets stolen, spent at the same BBQ restaurant,” Nakhleh said.

She said her bank told her when to expect her new card and within a day of its delivery date, her bank flagged that the card rejected a $6,492.84 charge on Sept. 10 at the same barbecue spot.

13 Investigates found the barbecue place named on the charges is not an actual storefront. It appears to be a food truck. We aren’t naming the business because there are no criminal charges associated with the situation.

Nakhleh’s mailbox is on her front porch. ABC13 asked if she thought someone had rummaged through it looking for the card, and she said no. She said she received her other mail during the time the cards went missing.

She said she ended up reaching out to people in her neighborhood, asking if they had the same problem when getting new bank cards through USPS.

She said she heard from a handful of people who live within a few blocks of her, saying they have had issues and that it happened about the same time, too, in mid-August to September.

ABC13 spoke with one of those residents on the phone. He told 13 Investigates he and his wife’s cards were also charged hundreds of dollars at the same barbecue truck.

Charges were declined on both of their cards, but one for $470 went through.

Nakhleh and her husband filed a police report, and the other resident we spoke with said he talked to an investigator about what happened.

13 Investigates worked to track down the owners of the food truck to get more details about what is going on.

Eyewitness News couldn’t find them in person, so we called. One person said he parted ways with the business a few months prior to the charges. The other denied being the owner and said he would put us in touch with them, but we never heard back.

Houston police told ABC13 that they are actively investigating and its property and financial crimes division has an open investigation.

ABC13 told the USPS about the homeowners’ issues, and their Office of Inspector General said they cannot confirm or deny a possible investigation.

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