Sacramento Woman Pleads Guilty to Credit Card Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kay Lee, 27, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, from July 2014 through April 2015, Lee participated in a scheme that involved at least 500 unauthorized and counterfeit credit cards and debit cards, affecting at least 1,800 victims, and leading to an estimated loss of $186,000. The defendants stole or possessed stolen mail, created or received fraudulent credit and debit cards, and made fraudulent purchases totaling thousands of dollars using the cards at national retailers such as Target in various Sacramento-area locations.

According to the plea agreement, Lee altered one business’s check for over $1,700 and deposited it in her personal checking account, put a hold on a victim’s mail without that person’s permission, took over a victim’s Target store account using another victim’s identity, and proceeded to engage in further unauthorized purchases using that taken-over account. Finally, on one occasion in September 2014, Lee used one victim’s credit card account number to purchase over $1,000 in tires and related services for her car, while presenting a different victim’s identity as the purchaser.

This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew M. Yelovich is prosecuting the case.

Lee remains in custody. Charges are pending against four co-defendants and a status conference is set for them on February 25, 2016. The charges against them are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Lee is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley on April 7, 2016. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy count, as well as a mandatory two years in prison, to be served consecutively to any other prison sentence imposed, for the aggravated identity theft count. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.