DALLAS, Texas – Ivania Ortiz, a 32-year-old woman from Nicaragua, has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for her role in a conspiracy involving counterfeit bank cards in North Texas. Ortiz, also known as ‘Ivania Reyes’ and ‘Lisset Oz,’ was sentenced on March 2017 by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater.
According to court documents, Ortiz and her co-conspirators obtained lists of credit and debit card numbers from online sources. They then used the card information to create counterfeit bank cards, which they used to make purchases at various retail stores. The defendants would purchase prepaid gift cards and shopping cards with the counterfeit cards, and then take those purchased items to other stores to further launder the illegally obtained money.
The scheme was discovered after an investigator from JPMorgan Chase observed a large volume of fraudulent transactions being made with unauthorized JPMorgan Chase debit card numbers at Walmart stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex area. JPMorgan Chase’s investigator worked with Walmart investigators to collect surveillance footage and conduct surveillance of the defendants engaging in the fraudulent transactions.
As part of the judgment, Ortiz was ordered to pay $408,596.46 in restitution, joint and severally with her codefendants. She was also ordered to pay over $360,000 to JPMorgan Chase.
Ortiz pleaded guilty in March 2017 to one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud. She has been in custody since her arrest in July 2016. The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Plano Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jamie L. Hoxie and Shane Read prosecuted the case.
The indictment charged Ortiz and seven other defendants with their roles in the scheme, which occurred from at least August 2014 through July 2016. Ortiz was one of the original defendants charged in the 20-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in August 2016.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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