Cuban Man Sentenced For Credit Card Fraud

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051
 
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Eduardo Hernandez Quinones (Hernandez), 46, a Cuban National and former resident of Miami, Florida, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, was sentenced to 31 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The defendant was also ordered to pay $13,785.29 in restitution. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell T. Ippolito, Jr., who handled the case, stated that Hernandez fraudulently obtained the authentic credit/debit card numbers of cardholders and then encoded that information onto counterfeit cards possessed by the defendant. The defendant then used the counterfeit cards to purchase merchandise at retail stores throughout Western New York. In addition, Hernandez used counterfeit cards to purchase gasoline from area gas stations and re-sold the gasoline for cash.

A total of six defendants have been charged in two related cases. Carrillo Chartrand, Claudia Diaz Diaz, Jose Valdivia Quinones, and Misael Toledo Rios have been convicted and are awaiting sentencing. Charges are pending against Yaily Santurio Milian. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Today’s sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero, the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge C. Todd Laster, and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Michael Cerretto.