Florida Man Sentenced to Almost Three Years for Credit Card Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Juan Carlos Febles, 52, of Miami Gardens, Florida, was sentenced on Wednesday in U.S. District Court by Chief Judge Nancy Torresen to 34 months in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. He pleaded guilty on August 24, 2017.

Court records show that between about November 2015 and June 2016, the defendant and others used stolen credit and debit card numbers to purchase merchandise. In June 2016, as part of the conspiracy, the defendant and others traveled to Maine. On June 15, 2016, after a co-conspirator, Yaisder Herrera Gargallo, purchased merchandise at a Portland Walgreens using a stolen card number, store personnel notified the police and provided a license plate number. On June 16, 2016, the defendant purchased over $700 worth of merchandise at an Augusta Home Depot using a stolen card number belonging to a victim from Vassalboro.

On June 18, 2016, a Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped the vehicle in which the defendant and two other men were traveling. The stop led to their arrest and the discovery of merchandise, numerous fraudulent credit cards and a laptop computer. The laptop computer was later found to contain credit card numbers and related data.

Yaisder Herrera Gargallo was sentenced to 40 months in prison and three years of supervised release on November 14, 2017. The defendant’s other two co-defendants—Jose Castillo Febles and Meylisi Rueda—have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

The case was investigated by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, the Portland Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service.