Brooklyn Man Sentenced For Credit Card Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft
Used Another Man’s Driver’s License to Commit Credit Card Fraud in the Utica Area
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK –Craig Alexander, 31, of Brooklyn, was sentenced today to serve 64 months in prison for committing credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft in September of 2014 in Utica, New York and at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Resident Agent in Charge Tim Kirk of the Syracuse Office of the United States Secret Service.
“Identity theft and credit card fraud cost financial institutions and individuals billions of dollars every year and cause irreparable harm to individuals whose credit is left in tatters. Too many of our citizens suffer at the hands of these criminals, who use the victim’s good name to steal, and my office will continue to prosecute these cases aggressively,” said U.S. Attorney Hartunian.
“This verdict represents the culmination of an investigation that required the cooperation of the Utica Police Department, Oneida Indian Nation Police, New York State Police Troop D, and the Secret Service,” stated Resident Agent in Charge Tim Kirk. “Each agency was integral to building the case, and ultimately securing a conviction.”
Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby also sentenced Alexander to serve 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release.
The jury in this case returned a verdict of guilty on all counts on June 22, 2016, after a three-day trial. The evidence at trial showed that Alexander assumed a man’s identity after that man lost his wallet in a New York City park and then used counterfeit credit cards encoded with the bank account information of at least 28 others whose personal information had also been stolen. He bought high-end products, such as iPads, and also got cash advances from merchants in Utica, New York.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, New York State Police, Oneida Indian Nation Police, and the Utica Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emmet O’Hanlon and Ransom Reynolds.