Cuban National Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud Charge

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051 

BUFFALO, N.Y.—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Yasser Carrillo Chartrand, 24, a citizen of Cuba legally present in the United States, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell T. Ippolito, Jr., who is handling the case, stated that Chartrand is one of six defendants arrested in a credit card scheme. Eduardo Hernandez Quinones, Claudia Diaz Diaz, Yaily Santurio Milian, Jose Valdivia Quinones and Misael Toledo Rios have all been convicted and sentenced for their involvement in the scheme.  

The six defendants conspired to obtain the credit/debit card numbers of actual people and then encoded counterfeit cards with the information. The defendants then used the counterfeit cards to purchase merchandise at retail stores including a Tops Market in Amherst, NY and a CVS Pharmacy in Buffalo, NY, and gas stations throughout Western New York. The gasoline that was purchased with counterfeit credit cards was re-sold for cash. 

Today’s plea is the result 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 Steven Nigrelli.
 
Sentencing is scheduled for September 28, 2016 at 12:30 p.m. before Arcara.