Woodmere Man pleads guilty to obtaining stolen credit card information and using it to buy gas | USAO-NDOH

Acting U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler announced that Charles E. Smith, Jr., 52, of Woodmere, Ohio, pleaded guilty on May 19, 2022, to an information charging him with one count of device fraud of access and an aggravated identity chief. flight.

According to court documents, from May 2019 to May 2020, Smith purchased stolen credit and debit card account information, including account numbers and addresses, from the dark web. Smith then used a credit card reader encoder/recorder to program this information into blank cards and used these cards to make fraudulent gas purchases at various northern Ohio gas stations. Court records indicate Smith purchased the gasoline to power vehicles used to deliver packages for Amazon.

In total, court documents say Smith purchased at least $10,621.23 in gasoline using more than 100 stolen debit and credit card accounts. After his arrest, investigators later determined Smith purchased more than 600 stolen debit and credit card accounts on the dark web, affecting victims in 25 states.

Smith is scheduled to be sentenced on August 25, 2022. Smith faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison and a maximum of twelve years.

This case has been investigated by the US Secret Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Payum Doroodian.