Anchorage, Alaska – Acting United States Attorney Kevin Feldis announced that today that two Fairbanks men have pled guilty in federal court in Fairbanks to charges of access device fraud.

Tyler Stephens, 22, of Fairbanks, Alaska, pled guilty on December 7, 2010, and Matthew Lalonde, 21, of Fairbanks, Alaska, pled guilty on December 17, 2010. Both defendants pled guilty before Chief United States District Judge Ralph R. Beistline.

According to Assistant United States Attorney Yvonne Lamoureux, who prosecuted the case, the facts supporting Lalonde's and Stephens' pleas reveal that Stephens, a former employee of Uresco Construction Materials, Inc., used a stolen Tesoro credit card in the name of Uresco from about May 22, 2009, to October 17, 2009, and that Lalonde used the stolen credit card from about October 17, 2009 to December 26, 2009. They used the stolen credit card to pay for filling up their own and others' vehicles at gas stations in Fairbanks and North Pole. Between May 22, 2009 to October 17, 2009, Stephens' unauthorized use and control of Uresco's Tesoro credit card allowed him to obtain $3,426.71 of fuel for himself and others. Between October 17, 2009, and December 26, 2009, Lalonde's unauthorized use and control of the stolen credit card allowed him to obtain $19,614.32 of fuel for himself and others.

Judge Beistline scheduled sentencing for Lalonde on February 25, 2011 at 10 a.m. and sentencing for Stephens on February 24, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the advisory Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.

The United States Secret Service and Fairbanks Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Lalonde and Stephens.

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