New york man pleads guilty to credit card fraud
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
April 3, 2012 |
Admitted Using Stolen Account Information Along the East Coast
CAMDEN, N.J. – A New York man today admitted his role in a scheme to use stolen credit card numbers to create counterfeit credit cards and use the cards up and down the East Coast to obtain cash and purchase merchandise, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Carlos J. Collier, 26, of St. Albans, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas in Camden federal court to an Information charging him with possession of 15 or more unauthorized and counterfeit access devices with the intent to defraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Collier acquired stolen credit card account numbers for the purpose of creating counterfeit credit and debit cards for fraudulent purchases. He obtained credit card-making equipment – including a credit card embosser, a magnetic strip encoder, and a credit card stamping machine – to emboss the stolen account numbers onto the front or encode the numbers onto the magnetic strip of the counterfeit cards. Collier directed others, including Nadia Sheppard, 27, and Eunice Brazzley, 26, both of Jamaica, N.Y., and Ronald Price, 26, of St. Albans, to help create and use the counterfeit cards to make fraudulent purchases in multiple states on the East Coast, including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. All three co-defendants have previously pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
The charge to which Collier pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for July 20, 2012.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jacob Christine, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph B. Shumofsky of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Keith Oliver Esq., Shrewsbury, N.J.
