Miami Man Indicted for Purchasing, Selling and Using Stolen Credit Card Information

WASHINGTON, June 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A Miami man was charged today with buying, selling and using stolen credit card information, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Michael K. Fithen of the U.S. Secret Service, Miami Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Kenneth T. Jenkins Jr., of the U.S. Secret Service, Criminal Investigative Division.

Juan Javier Cardenas was charged in a three-count indictment returned today by a federal grand jury in Miami with conspiracy to traffic in unauthorized credit card numbers and to possess unauthorized credit card numbers with intent to defraud; trafficking in unauthorized credit card numbers; and fraudulent possession of equipment to make credit cards.

According to the indictment, from November 2007 through May 2009, Cardenas allegedly purchased credit card information that had been stolen and obtained by fraudulent means from co-conspirators whom he met through the Internet. Cardenas allegedly resold that information to others, who used it to make fraudulent credit card purchases. In addition, Cardenas allegedly personally manufactured credit cards using the information he had purchased. In total, Cardenas purchased approximately 26,669 credit card numbers during the course of the scheme charged in the indictment.

If convicted, Cardenas faces maximum sentences of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge, 10 years in prison on the charge of trafficking in unauthorized credit card numbers, and 15 years in prison on the charge of fraudulent possession of equipment to make credit cards. Cardenas also faces fines and terms of supervised release on each of the charged counts, as well as forfeiture of any property or proceeds derived from his criminal activities.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent until convicted through due process of law.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Osborne of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Joseph E. Springsteen of the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. The case is being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice