Derrick Courtney Franklin, II, 29, of Los Angeles, California, is headed to federal prison for orchestrating a high-speed gift card fraud spree across Idaho retail chains. Franklin was sentenced yesterday to 42 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
Sentencing was handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb of the Eastern District of California, who also ordered Franklin to pay $1,527.64 in restitution to victims. The judgment closes a chapter on a brazen crime wave that saw Franklin and his accomplice weaponize stolen credit data to flood Idaho stores with counterfeit cards.
Court records reveal Franklin traveled to Idaho with the sole intent of cashing out stolen credit card numbers, which were encoded onto dummy debit and credit cards. Posing as legitimate shoppers, Franklin and co-defendant Jassmine Pettaway, 27, also of Los Angeles, executed at least eight fraudulent transactions across four retail locations, racking up $20,225.86 in illicit charges.
Investigators recovered a fake Michigan driver’s license, at least 19 counterfeit credit cards, and 45 purchased gift cards during the probe. The haul, seized by local law enforcement, underscores the scale and precision of the operation—premeditated, mobile, and designed to exploit retail point-of-sale systems before vanishing.
Pettaway, who played a key role in the scheme, was sentenced on September 8, 2016, to 32 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Authorities say the pair targeted big-box retailers where high-volume transactions could mask suspicious activity, slipping through automated fraud detection long enough to drain thousands.
The case was jointly investigated by the Meridian Police Department, the Boise Police Department, and the U.S. Secret Service (USSS). Federal prosecutors emphasized that crimes like this don’t just target corporations—they hurt everyday consumers whose data is hijacked and rarely recovered. Franklin will begin his 42-month sentence immediately.
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Key Facts
- State: Idaho
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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