Four international defendants — STEVEN MESROP, 30, of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada; MIRNA MAHROUS HABIB, 25, of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada; KARIN TREISTER, 25, of Toronto, Canada; and DIJON CORNELIUS SHEPARD, 28, of Los Angeles, California — are going to federal prison for 104 months combined and must pay nearly $3.5 million in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Their crime? A cross-border scam exploiting pandemic fear, stealing credit card data, and flooding Oklahoma with fraudulent ticket purchases and PPE cons.
The scheme came roaring into focus in Oklahoma when co-conspirators used stolen information from 52 credit cards to buy $678,842.03 worth of tickets to Oklahoma State University athletic events. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. The group also targeted U.S.-based vendors selling pandemic-related supplies, weaponizing the chaos of lockdowns to funnel cash through fake transactions and ghost storefronts.
The Western District of Oklahoma’s Coronavirus Fraud Task Force, launched in April 2021, nailed the ring by tracking the financial bleed-out from compromised cards. The task force — a joint operation of federal, state, and local agencies — was built to hunt down those who prey on relief programs like the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan Act. This case proves it’s not just watching. It’s striking back.
Meanwhile, pandemic unemployment programs continue to bleed out in Oklahoma. ALFRED SMITH, 37, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced July 27, 2022, to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $246,606.50 after using stolen identities to drain benefits from the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC). He cashed out via ATMs using OESC-issued debit cards funded by federal relief cash.
ANDRICE SAINVIL, 20, of Margate, Florida, followed the same playbook. On December 29, 2022, he was sentenced to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay $26,699.80. He and others stole the identities of dozens of Oklahomans, filed phony unemployment claims, and had prepaid debit cards mailed to drop addresses. Sainvil then pulled thousands from ATMs across Oklahoma City.
JILL NICOLE FORD, 31, formerly of Edmond, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty January 20, 2022, to bank fraud and money laundering after lying on a Main Street Lending Program application for her company, Oliver & Olivia Apparel, Inc. She claimed funds would go to payroll — instead, she laundered the cash for personal use. The Task Force’s full assault continues, with every guilty plea a warning: pandemic profiteers will be hunted down.
Related Federal Cases
- Live Nation Faces Trial Over Monopoly Practices · Washington
- 16 Indicted in Texas Bank Fraud Ring: $1.3M Losses · Alabama
- Canadian Man Cops Plea for Pandemic PPE, Ticket Scam · Oklahoma
- Canadian Scammer Vinnik Admits to PPE & Ticket Fraud · Oklahoma
- Amgen Pays $71M for Pushing Drugs Off-Label · Washington
Key Facts
- State: Oklahoma
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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