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Press Release

Four From Buffalo Indicted For Buying Gift Cards With Fraudulent Credit Cards

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Ohio

Four people from Buffalo, New York, were indicted on charges that they used fraudulent credit cards to buy $19,500 worth of gift cards from a Walmart and Rite Aid in Cleveland, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Indicted are Ricky Butler, 37, Cherise Luper, age 22, Brianna Davis, age 20, and Larry Cross, age 22. They face charges of access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, unlawful possession of a document-making implement, and conspiracy to commit the same.

The indictment alleges that the four individuals fraudulently obtained credit cards that they later used to purchase gift cards valued at approximately $19,500 from the Walmart stores at 3400 Steelyard Drive and 10000 Brookpark Road and the RiteAid store at 10502 St. Clair Avenue, all in Cleveland, as well as two stores in New York.

It further alleges that the defendants acquired and produced counterfeit identification cards that they used in the identity-theft and access-device scheme. 

In all, they obtained 39 gift cards, each worth $500, according to the indictment.

If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal record, if any, the defendants’ role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation.  In all cases, the sentences will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases they will be less than the maximum.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys M. Kendra Klump, Robert W. Kern, and James L. Morford following an investigation by the United States Secret Service and the Bedford Police Department.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Updated March 12, 2015