Former Boston Police Officer Sentenced for Access Device Fraud

BOSTON – A former Boston Police Officer was sentenced yesterday in connection with purchasing and using gift cards obtained from the return of stolen merchandise.

Eddie Odney, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Senior Judge Mark L. Wolf to 36 months of probation, a fine of $10,000 and forfeiture of $1,600.

In August 2016, Odney pleaded guilty to one count of access device fraud and, as part of his plea agreement, resigned as a Boston Police Officer.

Over the course of over a year and a half, including all of 2015, Odney purchased approximately $5,000 worth of gift cards that he knew were obtained from the return of stolen merchandise at stores including T.J. Maxx, Macy’s, and HomeGoods.  Odney paid cash for the cards and used them to make over $1,600 in purchases in 2015. 

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Superintendent Frank Mancini of the Boston Police Department’s Anti-Corruption Division; made the announcement.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia M. Carris of Ortiz’s Public Corruption Unit.