38 DEFENDANTS INDICTED IN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR FRAUD

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that 38 defendants from across the United States have been charged in a series of indictments that allege an extensive network of black market travel agents who used the stolen identities of thousands of victims as part of a multi-million dollar fraud scheme to purchase airline tickets for their customers.

“What began as a local law enforcement investigation ultimately exposed an extensive nationwide black market for airline tickets,” Phillips said.

“Six federal indictments allege that 38 defendants used stolen credit and debit card information from thousands of identity theft victims to purchase tickets, which they sold to their customers at a steep discount,” Phillips added. “These separate criminal conspiracies resulted in an estimated total loss of more than $20 million to numerous domestic airline companies, financial institutions, other merchants and cardholders.”

Conspirators used several strategies to obtain the credit and debit card information of identity theft victims, according to the federal indictments. In some cases, conspirators allegedly purchased stolen information from unindicted co-conspirators in Bangladesh, Vietnam and elsewhere. Some of the defendants allegedly stole customer information at hotels, a bank and a customer call center where the defendants were employed.

This stolen identity information was allegedly used by other conspirators – identified as black market travel agents – to purchase airline tickets at no cost to themselves. They used computers and cell phones to make online purchases through the Web sites of various airlines, the indictments say, utilizing not only private Internet connections but also public Internet connections at airports, hotels, libraries and other businesses. They often purchased reservations close to the time of departure, in order to increase the likelihood that their fraudulent purchases would not be detected. As a result, a passenger could often complete his or her trip before the credit or debit card was detected as being compromised.

According to the indictments, black market travel agents profited from the scheme by purchasing stolen credit and debit card information at a nominal cost, then using the stolen information to purchase the airline tickets at no cost to themselves, then selling the ticket to their customers. Many of their customers, who usually paid $75 to $250 per ticket, knew that the tickets were not legitimately purchased. Some of the customers have been charged in the indictments.

Some conspirators acted as passenger brokers or referral sources to carry out the scheme by referring customers to the black market travel agents.

According to the indictments, the investigation began when co-defendants Sabrina Bowers, 29, of Kansas City, Mo., and Deidre Turner, 27, of Peculiar, Mo., stole a Dell laptop computer from a residence in Overland Park, Kan., on Nov. 21, 2005, in order to use it in the fraud scheme. In related incidents, Overland Park and Shawnee, Kan., police officers recovered numerous pieces of mail and credit card numbers that did not belong to them in the possession of both Bowers and Turner, according to records on file with the District Court of Johnson County, Kan. One of those credit card numbers had allegedly been used to purchase several airline tickets.

Bowers and Turner allegedly obtained stolen credit and debit card information from hotels in Overland Park and the Atlanta, Ga., metro area where the identity theft victims had stayed as guests. Bowers and Turner worked with co-defendant Demetria Harrison, 40, who allegedly acted as a black market travel agent while living in Kansas City, Mo., and later in the Atlanta, Ga., area. Bowers, Turner and Harrison, along with Harrison’s son, are charged together in one of the six indictments.

Investigators tracked the black market activities of these defendants from Kansas City to Atlanta. As the investigation continued, law enforcement officers developed leads to similar conspiracies operating throughout the United States.

“This case highlights the importance of the strong working relationships among federal, state and local law enforcement,” said US. Postal Inspection Service Deputy Chief Inspector Gregory Campbell, Jr. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to working with our partners to ensure the continued trust people place in the mail and protecting the public from financial victimization by enforcing the laws that defend the nation's mail system from illegal use.”

The federal indictments specifically refer to identity theft victims in Kansas City, Mo., Lee’s Summit, Mo., Gladstone, Mo., Raytown, Mo., Springfield, Mo., Branson, Mo., Columbia, Mo., Jefferson City, Mo., Brookline, Mo., and Baldwin City, Kan., as well as victims in Washington, D.C., Saskatchewan, Canada, and in 26 other states, including Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia, Nevada, Michigan, Washington, Ohio, Arizona, Florida, Utah, Nebraska, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Alabama and Indiana.

According to the indictments, tickets were purchased for flights into or out of Kansas City International Airport, Springfield-Branson National Airport and other airports across the country, primarily on Delta Air Lines, US Airways and United Airlines, as well as American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Continental Airlines, AirTran Airways, Virgin America Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Frontier Airlines.

“The assistance of the airlines was invaluable to the federal investigation,” Phillips said. “Airlines provided significant information and devoted substantial resources during the course of this lengthy investigation. I appreciate their cooperation and applaud their contribution to this successful conclusion.”

A series of six indictments have been returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., over the past year. Four of the six indictments were returned under seal on July 1, 2010. All of the indictments have been unsealed and made public upon the arrests and initial court appearances of the defendants.

Phillips cautioned that the charges contained in these indictments are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mow/news2010/harrison.indictments.htm

BLACK MARKET TRAVEL AGENTS

38 DEFENDANTS INDICTED IN $MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR
FRAUD SCHEME

LOCAL INVESTIGATION EXPOSES NATIONWIDE NETWORK

THAT USED STOLEN IDENTITIES, CREDIT CARDS

TO PURCHASE AIRLINE TICKETS

U.S. vs. Harrison, et al: Atlanta/KC Conspiracy

Demetria Harrison, 40, a former Kansas City, Mo., resident, and her son, Benjamin Suber, 26, both of Union City, Ga., Sabrina Bowers, 29, of Kansas City, Mo., and Deidre Turner, 27, of Peculiar, Mo., were charged in a seven-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on July 1, 2010.

The federal indictment alleges that all four defendants participated in a conspiracy to commit credit and debit card fraud and aggravated identity theft from Dec. 1, 2001, to Jan. 15, 2009. The indictment cites a number of flights between Kansas City, Mo., and Atlanta, Ga.

In addition to the conspiracy, Harrison is charged with three counts of credit and debit card fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft.

U.S. vs. Burks, et al : Los Angeles Conspiracy

Jason Burks, 28, Raun Lauderdale, Jr., 26, Shante Pearson, 32, Abass Djibril, 44, and Terrence L. Clemens, 21, all of Los Angeles, Calif., Demetria Harrison, 40, of Union City, Ga., Deandreas Knight, 20, of Berkeley, Mo., Christopher Britto, 27, of Paramount, Calif., and Ruben Rivers, 54, of Brooklyn, N.Y., were charged in a seven-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on July 1, 2010.

The federal indictment alleges that all nine defendants participated in a conspiracy to commit credit and debit card fraud and aggravated identity theft from July 25, 2007, to May 14, 2009. The indictment cites a number of flights in and out of Los Angeles.

Burks allegedly acted as a black market travel agent and used stolen information to fraudulently purchase airline tickets. Lauderdale, Knight and Clemens allegedly obtained credit and debit card numbers, along with identity information, which they sold to Burks. For example, the indictment says, Lauderdale stole the credit card or debit card information form his place of employment, a hotel in Long Beach, Calif.

Harrison, Pearson, Britto, Clemens and Djbril acted as passenger brokers or referral sources for the black market travel scheme. They referred passengers to Burks.

Knight, Pearson, Britto, Clemens and Djibril also obtained fraudulently purchased airline reservations for themselves through Burks.

In addition to the conspiracy, Burks is charged with one count of credit card fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Burks and Harrison are also charged together with two counts of credit card fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

U.S. vs. Beecham, et al: Chicago Conspiracy

Maurice E. Beecham, 37, Benjamin Everett, 31, Qeauna Thompson, 31, Edwon C. Simmons, 34, Tyrone Ross, 32, and Chikosi Walker, 31, all of Chicago, Ill., Marcus Grisby, 34, of Hoffman Estates, Ill., Marlene Findley, 41, of Atlanta, Ga., Percy Richard, 27, of Gary, Ind., Demetria Harrison, 40, of Union City, Ga., and Monique Calhoun, 23, of North Hollywood, Calif., were charged in a 22-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on July 1, 2010.

The federal indictment alleges that all 11 defendants participated in a conspiracy to commit credit and debit card fraud and aggravated identity theft from Jan. 27 to Nov. 13, 2009.

Everett, Ross, Simmons, Grisby and Thompson allegedly acted as black market travel agents. Beecham allegedly stole credit and debit card information, along with identity information, and sold that information to co-conspirators. Findley, Walker, Richard and Harrison acted as passenger brokers or referral sources for the black market travel scheme.

In addition to the conspiracy, Grisby is charged with three counts of credit card fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft, Everett and Walker are each charged separately with one count of credit card fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft apiece, Harrison and Findley are charged together with one count of credit card fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, Ross and Simmons are charged together with one count of credit card fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, and Richard, Everett and Thompson are charged together with one count of credit card fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Simmons and Calhoun are also charged with one count of making a false statement to a federal law enforcement officer. Simmons and Calhoun allegedly worked together to develop a false story to tell federal law enforcement agents in order to conceal the existence of the conspiracy. According to the indictment, Simmons instructed Calhoun to either ignore phone calls from federal agents, or lie to the agents by telling them the airline tickets were purchased online through Craigslist.com. In reality, the indictment alleges, Calhoun purchased tickets from Simmons.

U.S. vs. Pryor, et al: Oakland Conspiracy

Waiki Pryor, 29, of Richmond, Calif., Shante Pearson, 32, of Los Angeles, Calif., Delano Rutty, 26, of Palm Beach, Fla., Crystal Green, 22, of Miramar, Fla., and Norman Nico Johnson, 35, and Abdullah A. Gardner, 26, both of Inglewood, Calif., were charged in a 15-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on July 1, 2010.

The federal indictment alleges that all five defendants participated in a conspiracy to commit credit and debit card fraud and aggravated identity theft from March 8, 2009, to June 16, 2010. The indictment cites a number of flights in and out of Los Angeles, Calif.

Pryor allegedly acted as a black market travel agent. Rutty acted both as a black market travel agent and as a source of stolen credit card and debit card numbers and the means of identification of the cardholders for Pryor. Rutty obtained stolen credit card numbers from Green, who stole them from her place of employment at a customer call center. Pearson, Johnson and Gardner acted as passenger brokers or referral sources for the black market travel scheme. They referred passengers to Pryor. In addition, Pearson, Johnson and Gardner obtained fraudulently purchased airline reservations for themselves through Pryor.

In addition to the conspiracy, Pryor is charged with seven counts of credit and debit card fraud and seven counts of aggravated identity theft.

U.S. vs. Palmer, et al: Brooklyn/Orlando/Los Angeles Conspiracy

Steven James Palmer, also known as “Haze,” 29, of Philadelphia, Penn., Gerard Dorien Bates, also known as “Coko,” 23, of Detroit, Mich., Sean Fleming, also known as “David Bravo” or “Pucci,” 28, of Hialeah, Fla., Romeyo Calavarey, also known as “Malawtic Surreal,” 25, and Kareem Nelson, 31, both of Atlanta, Ga., Troy Sampson, also known as “Alaysia Simpson,” 33, of North Miami, Fla., Tyrone Jackson, also known as “TJ Milan,” 23, of Newark, N.J., Alexander Lewis, also known as “Mike Gotti,” 25, of McDonough, Ga., Termain Brice, 31, of Bronx, N.Y., and Simon P. Carter, 31, of Brooklyn, N.Y., were charged in a 15-count third superseding indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on May 5, 2010. The original indictment was returned on July 14, 2009.

The superseding indictment alleges that all nine defendants participated in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud, debit and credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft from Aug. 20, 2008, to March 27, 2010. Palmer was originally based in Brooklyn, N.Y., but later moved to Orlando, Fla., then relocated with Bates to Los Angeles, Calif., in June 2009.

Palmer, Fleming, Jackson, Brice and Carter allegedly purchased stolen debit and credit card information from the Bangladesh conspirators and others to make online purchases of airline tickets. They provided the confirmation codes for the tickets to their customers, including Sampson and Nelson. Bates acted as a passenger broker, referring passengers for the black market travel scheme.

In addition, the indictment says, conspirators booked tickets for themselves using the stolen credit and debit card information.

Lewis and Jackson allegedly supplied stolen credit and debit card numbers from their employers. Lewis worked at hotels in the Atlanta, Ga., area, and Jackson worked at a bank.

Several conspirators, including Palmer, Bates, Fleming, Calavarey, Jackson and Brice, had access to the merchant identification number belonging to an East Coast business, which they allegedly used to call a credit card verification service. Conspirators could thus check the stolen credit card numbers to determine whether or not the numbers were valid and could be used to purchase airline tickets.

In addition to the conspiracy, Palmer is charged with one count of credit card fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

In addition to the conspiracy, Brice is charged with six counts of credit card fraud and six counts of aggravated identity theft.

U.S. vs. Clay: Atlanta Conspiracy

Ricardo Clay, 30, of Atlanta, Ga., was charged in a 16-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on April 7, 2010.

The federal indictment alleges that Clay participated in a conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and credit card fraud from March 22, 2009, to March 16, 2010. Clay worked with the Bangladesh conspirators and others to obtain stolen debit and credit card information, the indictment says, then used that information to purchase airline tickets for customers of the scheme.

Among the tickets purchased by Clay as part of the conspiracy were United Airlines flights from Chicago, Ill., to Springfield, Mo., and from Springfield to Los Angeles, Calif.

In addition to the conspiracy, the indictment charges Clay with 12 counts of aggravated identity theft and three counts of debit or credit card fraud.

NOTE The following text is a quote:

www.justice.gov/usao/mow/news2010/brice.ple.htm

NEWS RELEASE
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

www.justice.gov/usao/mow/index.html

OCTOBER 14, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BLACK MARKET TRAVEL AGENTS

NEW YORK MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO
MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR FRAUD

CONSPIRATORS USED STOLEN IDENTITIES, CREDIT CARDS
TO PURCHASE AIRLINE TICKETS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a New York, N.Y., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a conspiracy among black market travel agents who used the stolen identities of thousands of victims as part of a multi-million dollar fraud scheme to purchase airline tickets for their customers.

Termain Brice, 31, of New York, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr., to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.

Brice admitted that he acted as a black market travel agent. Brice used stolen credit and debit card information to purchase airline reservations for his customers. Brice charged his passengers far less than the value of a legitimately purchased reservation. Brice profited from the scheme by purchasing the stolen credit and debit card information of the identity theft victims at a nominal cost, then using the stolen information to purchase the airline tickets that he sold to his customers.

According to today’s plea agreement, Brice caused a loss to more than 250 victims, which totaled more than $1 million.

Brice obtained stolen credit and debit card information from a variety of sources, including his former place of employment and sources in Bangladesh.

Brice primarily booked airline tickets using the Internet connection at his apartment in New York. However, on at least one occasion, Brice engaged in this activity at Kansas City International Airport, using the wi-fi Internet connection within the airport terminal. Brice generally purchased reservations close to the time of departure, in order to increase the likelihood that the airlines, credit card or debit card companies, or identity theft victims would not detect the fraudulent purchases, and have the tickets canceled. As a result, a passenger in Brice’s scheme could often complete his or her trip before the credit or debit card was detected as being compromised.

Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, the government and Brice agree to request a sentence of seven years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

Brice is the sixth defendant to plead guilty to related black market travel conspiracies. Co-defendants Kareem Nelson, 31, and Romeyo Calavarey, also known as “Malawtic Surreal,” 25, both of Atlanta, Ga., Sean Fleming, also known as”David Bravo” or “Pucci,” 29, of Hialeah, Fla., and Alexander Lewis, also known as “Mike Gotti,” 25, of McDonough, Ga., also have pleaded guilty. In a separate but related case, Ricardo Clay, 30, of Atlanta, also has pleaded guilty.

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John E. Cowles and Matt Hiller. They were investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Overland Park, Kan., Police Department, and the Kansas City Secret Service Task Force, and with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available on-line at
http://www.justice.gov/usao/mow/index.html

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