A 57-year-old Long Island man has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for his role in a massive, international credit card fraud conspiracy that raked in over $200 million in losses. Ijaz Butt, of Hicksville, New York, was sentenced to 63 months behind bars by U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton federal court.
Butt pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, admitting he helped create and exploit hundreds of fake identities to obtain credit cards fraudulently. As part of a sprawling criminal network, Butt directed credit cards issued in the names of third parties—many entirely fictional—to addresses controlled by co-conspirators across the country. He acknowledged knowing the cards would be used to obtain goods and services with no intent to repay.
The scheme, one of the largest of its kind ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice, relied on a three-phase process: fabricating false identities using doctored ID documents, inflating credit scores with phony financial data, then maxing out thousands of credit lines with no intention of repayment. The fraud spanned years and left financial institutions and retailers reeling from confirmed losses exceeding $200 million.
Investigators uncovered an intricate web of deception involving more than 7,000 fabricated identities and over 1,800 ‘drop addresses’—rented homes, apartments, and P.O. boxes—used to receive fraudulent mail. The operation stretched across multiple states, with 19 individuals ultimately pleading guilty, including Butt, who was first charged in February 2013.
In addition to his 63-month sentence, Butt was sentenced to three years of supervised release and fined $3,000. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Cyber Division, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Secret Service, with assistance from the U.S. Social Security Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel V. Shapiro, Zach Intrater, and Barbara Ward led the prosecution.
The case was brought under the umbrella of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, a multi-agency initiative aimed at cracking down on financial crimes. Since its inception, the task force has prosecuted nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases. Defense counsel was Kenneth W. Kayser, Esq., of East Hanover, New Jersey.
Related Federal Cases
- Habib Chaudhry Nabbed in $200M Credit Card Fraud Scheme · New Jersey
- Qureshi Gets 46 Months in $200M Credit Card Scam · New Jersey
- NY Man Pleads Guilty in $200M Credit Card Fraud Scam · New Jersey
- Shawn Hilliard Gets 12 Years for $1.3M Bank Fraud Scheme · Pennsylvania
- Predator Caracciolo Gets 25 Years for Exploitation, Fraud · Massachusetts
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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