Eddie Odney, Cash-and-Card Scam, MA 2024

Eddie Odney, 38, a former Boston Police Officer, is off the force and on probation after admitting to a cash-and-card scam that fed off stolen goods. Odney was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court to 36 months of probation, slapped with a $10,000 fine, and forced to forfeit $1,600 in ill-gotten gains—all stemming from his purchase and use of gift cards bought with stolen merchandise.

Senior Judge Mark L. Wolf handed down the sentence after Odney pleaded guilty in August 2016 to one count of access device fraud. As part of the plea deal, Odney, once sworn to uphold the law, surrendered his badge and resigned from the Boston Police Department—the very institution now tasked with policing internal corruption.

For over 18 months, including all of 2015, Odney knowingly bought approximately $5,000 worth of gift cards tied to fraudulent returns at major retailers like T.J. Maxx, Macy’s, and HomeGoods. The cards were obtained by criminals who returned stolen goods for store credit—then flipped the cards for cash. Odney paid cash to buy them and used them to fund personal spending.

Investigators confirmed Odney used the cards to make more than $1,600 in purchases during 2015 alone. The scheme exploited retailer return policies and relied on the blind eye of someone who should have known better—especially someone wearing a badge.

The takedown was led by U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, FBI Special Agent in Charge Harold H. Shaw, and Superintendent Frank Mancini of the Boston Police Department’s Anti-Corruption Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia M. Carris, part of Ortiz’s Public Corruption Unit, which continues to probe misconduct within law enforcement ranks.

Odney’s fall from blue line to probation is a stark reminder: corruption doesn’t always come with guns and drugs—sometimes it’s a quiet transaction for a stack of gift cards, bought cheap and used with impunity—until the law catches up.