Braintree Man Pleads Guilty To Using Stolen Credit Cards

BOSTON – A Braintree man was convicted today of stealing credit cards from a mail-sorting facility and using them to commit fraud.

Gerald K. Acholonu, 32, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Richard G. Stearns to credit card fraud and theft of mail. Sentencing is scheduled for June 25, 2013. Acholonu faces between 48 and 57 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, restitution, forfeiture, and a fine.

From August 2010 through May 2011, Acholonu worked for a contractor that sorted mail for the U.S. Postal System. In late April 2011, Acholonu was spotted leaving his employer’s restroom with a tray of U.S. mail. Investigators then searched the trash from his residence and found 11 stolen Discover credit cards and evidence that Acholonu was using or planning to use the Discover customers’ identities by setting up telephone accounts in their names. In his plea agreement, the parties agreed that all told, there were more than 250 victims and the loss totaled between $400,000 and $1 million.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Kevin Niland, Postal Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Rafael Medina, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, Boston Field Office, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted Scott L. Garland and Eric Christofferson, respectively of Ortiz's Cybercrimes and Economic Crimes Units.