ROGERSVILLE, TN – Amaurys Mendez Campanon is headed to federal prison for 57 months after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The sentencing, handed down recently, closes a chapter in a brazen scheme that saw stolen credit card data loaded onto gift cards and used for illicit purchases across East Tennessee and beyond.
Between August 7th and 10th, 2017, Campanon, working with accomplice Odemnis Prats Leiva, allegedly purchased illicit credit and debit card account information from unknown sources. The pair didn’t just have the numbers; they had the means to exploit them. They systematically shoplifted blank gift cards from various retail locations, then illegally re-encoded those cards with the stolen financial data, effectively turning them into functional, fraudulent credit cards.
The operation wasn’t about high-dollar purchases, but volume. The re-encoded cards were used to buy more gift cards, along with other consumer goods, at stores throughout East Tennessee. Law enforcement caught up with Campanon and Leiva on August 10, 2017, in Rogersville, Tennessee. Leiva, at the time of his arrest, was found with a veritable fraud kit: nine unlawfully re-encoded devices, $7,020.25 in cash, and a stash of fraudulently obtained gift cards.
Federal prosecutors revealed the details through Campanon’s plea agreement filed with the U.S. District Court. Campanon pleaded guilty to three counts of a September 2017 federal indictment. The U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed Campanon will also be subject to three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence and ordered to pay restitution totaling $21,114.84 to the victims of the scheme.
Leiva, also pleading guilty to the charges, received a 54-month prison sentence in July 2018. The case was a joint effort between the U.S. Secret Service, the Johnson City Police Department, and the Rogersville Police Department, highlighting the need for interagency cooperation in combating these types of financial crimes.
Assistant U.S. Attorney TJ Harker successfully prosecuted the case. While the arrests of Campanon and Leiva represent a significant blow to this particular operation, investigators warn that gift card fraud remains a persistent threat, and consumers must remain vigilant about protecting their financial information. The Eastern District of Tennessee continues to prioritize investigations into financial crimes like these, sending a clear message that such activity will not be tolerated.
Related Federal Cases
- Kristen Morrison, Wire Fraud and Identity Theft, TN 2024 · Tennessee
- Melinda Boisseau, Identity Theft Tax Fraud, TN 2017 · Kansas
- Johnny Santiago Valdez Calderon, Wire Fraud and Identity Theft, US … · Kansas
- Donald Hicklin, Bank Fraud and Identity Theft Conspiracy, VA 2023 · Tennessee
- AbdulNasar Nour, Wire Fraud and Identity Theft, TN 2019 · Kansas
Key Facts
- Agency: U.S. Secret Service
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Press Release
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