Florida Residents Plead Guilty to Credit Card Fraud Charges

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Alejandro Caal, 45, of Tampa, Florida; Zulairam Ramos, 30, of Orlando, Florida; Adrian Teruel, 26, of Orlando, Florida; and Olga Valido, 51, of Kissimmee, Florida, pleaded guilty on Wednesday in U.S. District Court to access device fraud and conspiracy to commit access device fraud.

Court records show that between October 2016 and March 2017, the defendants used stolen credit and debit card numbers to purchase merchandise and gift cards at Maine stores. Each of the defendants used stolen card numbers belonging to Maine residents to make fraudulent purchases in late 2016 and early 2017. Caal, Teruel and Valido were arrested on March 11, 2017, and initially charged in state court. All four defendants were charged federally in April 2017.

The defendants each face up to ten years in prison on the access device fraud charge and five years in prison on the conspiracy charge. They also face a $250,000 fine on each charge. The defendants have pleaded not guilty to aggravated identity theft charges, and a bench trial on those charges is scheduled for January 23, 2018. They will be sentenced after the completion of presentence investigation reports by the U.S. Probation Office.

The Falmouth Police Department was the lead investigative agency in this case. The case was also investigated by the Augusta, Scarborough, South Portland, and Winthrop police departments; the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Secret Service.