Las Vegas Resident Sentenced on Fraudulent Credit Card Scheme

PITTSBURGH, PA - A resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been sentenced in federal court to 12 months’ probation with 6 months’ home confinement on his conviction of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Hector Ofelio Podio Gutierrez, 31, of Las Vegas, Nevada.

According to information presented to the court, Podio Gutierrez used counterfeit credit cards encoded with stolen bank account information to purchase MasterCard gift cards at Sam’s Club stores in the Pittsburgh area, as well as in Florida and California. During the month of December 2017, Podio Gutierrez and his codefendant, Yoandy Pou Torres, using an encoding device, created counterfeit credit cards, and then used the cards to make fraudulent gift card purchases totaling more than $382,000 at various Sam’s Club locations, approximately $170,000 of which were purchases conducted at Pittsburgh area stores.

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Bissoon stated that Podio Gutierrez, since his arrest and while on bond pending trial, had been living a productive and law abiding life, and had provided noteworthy support to his family and his community.

Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Olshan commended the United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Secret Service for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Gutierrez.