Individual Indicted For Credit Card Fraud And Aggravated Identity Theft

SAN JUAN, PR – Yesterday afternoon, a federal grand jury returned a seven-count indictment against Kafi Rhaman Farrakhan for counterfeit credit card and manufacturing and aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. The investigation was conducted by the United States Secret Service.
                
            Kafi Rahman Farrakhan, aka “Ramon Chris Manuel,” aka “Ramon Charlie Manuel,” aka “Cedric Briggs Stewart,” aka “Eric Shawn Fulton,” knowingly and with intent to defraud, possessed device-making equipment, that is a credit card encoder. Said possession affected interstate and foreign commerce, in that the credit card encoder was used to create fraudulent credit cards that were possessed and used in Puerto Rico with credit card numbers issued by banks located outside of Puerto Rico.  The banks were: Wells Fargo Bank, JP Morgan Chase Bank, and Target VISA.

According to the indictment, the defendant did knowingly possess, without lawful authority, means of identification of other victims; that is, various credit card numbers, during and in relation to a felony violation. The defendant used various fraudulent credit cards to pay for his stay at different hotels and to buy luxury items such as designer handbags.  The defendant obtained credit card numbers purchased from black market internet.

The defendant is facing a forfeiture allegation that includes: all fraudulent credit cards and identification documents; one credit card encoder; one Hewlett Packard TouchSmart personal computer; one Hewlett Packard Pavilion dv7 laptop computer; one Louis Vuitton handbag; three Guess handbags; and one Miami Beach, Glam Rock, diamond bracelet.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin R. Martin. The maximum penalties are 15 years of imprisonment for count one and two additional years for each aggravated identity theft count. An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.