New york man sentenced to 57 months in prison for credit card fraud
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
July 26, 2012 |
CAMDEN, N.J. – A New York man was sentenced today to 57 months in prison for his role in a scheme to create counterfeit credit cards by using stolen credit card numbers and then 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, 27, of St. Albans, N.Y., previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas to an Information charging him with possession of 15 or more unauthorized and counterfeit access devices with the intent to defraud. Judge Irenas imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
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 Ronald Price, 27, and Eunice Brazzley, 26, all of Jamaica, N.Y., 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. On June 12, 2012, Sheppard was sentenced to 37 months in prison and Price was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Brazzley is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 10.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Irenas sentenced Collier three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $188,000 in restitution.
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 sentencing.
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.
