New York Man Sentenced To More Than 5 Years In Federal Prison For Access Device Fraud

Orlando, Florida - Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Senior District Judge G. Kendall Sharp sentenced Richard Middleton (36, New York) today to five years and ten months in federal prison for possession of device -making equipment and possession of a false identification implement. Middleton pleaded guilty on May 29, 2013.

According to documents, on August 20, 2011, deputies from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on a room that Middleton occupied at a timeshare resort in Kissimmee. Inside the room deputies recovered equipment used to manufacture counterfeit credit cards and false identification documents, including a credit card embosser, a foil press “tipping” machine, card making devices, MasterCard hologram stickers, blank plastic cards and holograms typically used in genuine state issued identification cards and driver licenses, more than 1,000 blank American Express and Visa credit cards, and a laptop computer. A forensic review of the laptop revealed evidence indicating its use in the charged crimes.

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service. The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew C. Searle.