United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner
Eastern District of California
Bakersfield and Delano Defendants Arrested for Credit Card Fraud
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Lauren Horwood |
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May 18, 2011 |
PHONE: (916) 554-2706 |
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www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae |
usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov |
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Docket #: 1:11-cr-00174-AWI |
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FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that on May 12, 2011 a federal grand jury returned a 21-count indictment charging Jairo Fernandez, 26, and Jorge Palenzuela, 42, both of Bakersfield, and Yuri Perez Machado, 39, of Delano, in a credit card fraud of conspiracy.
According to the indictment, the defendants opened credit card accounts with Lowe's and Home Depot home improvement stores using their own names but using the information taken from publicly available business documents of victim companies, including the companies' employer or tax identification numbers. The defendants would then use the credit card account numbers to purchase goods from Lowe's and Home Depot. The indictment alleges that the fraudulent scheme resulted in a loss of more than $200,000 to the victim companies and home improvement stores.
Palenzuela was arrested yesterday in Liberal, Kan. He will be appearing before a Magistrate Judge in Wichita on Friday, May 20. Fernandez was arraigned in Fresno this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis L. Beck; a detention hearing is set for Friday, May 20, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. Machado is still at large.
This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Secret Service, with assistance from the Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Henry Z. Carbajal III and Stanley A. Boone are prosecuting the case.
The maximum statutory penalty for criminal conspiracy is five years in prison. The maximum statutory penalty for unauthorized use of access devices is 10 years in prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
The charges are only allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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