BROOKLYN MAN SENTENCED TO 87 MONTHS FOR CREDIT CARD SKIMMING
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA - Gaspar Bishop, 20, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced yesterday to 87 months in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to steal and use the credit and debit card information of more than 600 victims, announced Pamela C. Marsh, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
In April 2010, Bishop induced his co-defendant, Elizabeth Lail-Caldare, to use her position as a waitress at Famous Dave's restaurant in Pensacola to steal the credit and debit card information of the restaurant's customers. Bishop provided Lail-Caldare with a skimming device that enabled her to capture the names, account numbers, and other information from credit and debit cards of approximately 60 customers. Bishop routinely met with Lail-Caldare to retrieve the skimmer and to download the information she had stolen. He then used the stolen information to create counterfeit cards that he and confederates used to obtain money and merchandise from businesses in Florida, Alabama, Pennsylvania, and New York.
The conspiracy involved not only the theft of account information from Famous Dave’s customers, but thefts from other victims as well. At the conclusion of a sentencing hearing held yesterday in federal district court in Tallahassee, the court found Bishop was involved in the theft of identifying information of more than 600 victims. As part of the sentence, the court ordered Bishop to pay $38,454 in restitution.
Both Bishop and Lail-Caldare pled guilty earlier this year to conspiracy, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft arising from their involvement in the identity theft scheme. Lail-Caldare's sentencing is scheduled for June 22, 2011. The trial of their co-defendant, Trevor Hubbard, is scheduled for June 6, 2011.
U.S. Attorney Marsh praised the work of the United States Secret Service, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office, and the Pensacola Police Department, whose joint investigation led to the charges in this case.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher P. Canova.
An indictment is merely a formal charge by the grand jury. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
