Boston Woman Sentenced To Federal Prison For Role In New Hampshire Credit Card Fraud

          CONCORD, N.H. – Acting United States Attorney Donald Feith announced that today Laura A. Minot was sentenced to twenty-five months in federal prison after she had pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Access Device (Credit Card) Fraud and one count of Aggravated Identity Theft.  Minot’s guilty pleas arose from her role in a fraudulent credit card scheme.  Minot, age 52, resides in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.

          During her prior plea hearing, Minot admitted that on April 16, 2014, she conspired with others to purchase gift cards and high value merchandise at retail box stores in New Hampshire and Massachusetts using retail credit card accounts and lines of credit that she and/or co-conspirators opened in the names of other actual persons without their authorization or knowledge.  Minot further admitted that she and co-conspirators opened the credit card accounts and lines of credit using misappropriated personal identifying information and false identification cards.  Minot also admitted to wearing a disguise to facilitate some of the illegal transactions.

          United States District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro sentenced Minot to twenty-four months incarceration on the Aggravated Identity Theft count and one consecutive month on the Conspiracy to Commit Access Device (Credit Card) Fraud.  In addition to the terms of imprisonment, Judge Barbadoro sentenced Minot to a term of supervised release of three years and ordered her to pay restitution to the victims of her fraud.  While on supervised release, Minot will have to abide by rules established by the court, including paying restitution.  If she fails to do so, she could be required to serve more time in prison.

          The investigation of Minot’s offenses was conducted and coordinated by the Boston office of the U.S. Secret Service and the Medway (Mass.) and Cambridge (Mass.) Police Departments.  The Massachusetts State Police and local police departments in Acton, Ayer, Bedford, Boston, Brookline, Cohasset, Dover, Groton, Lincoln, Littleton, Medfield, Medford, Norton, Plymouth, Reading, Sudbury, Sutton, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro, Watertown, Wayland, Wellesley, Weston and Westwood, Massachusetts, and Hollis, New Hampshire, also assisted in the investigation.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Morse.