Bronx man Louis Pina, 24, is headed to federal prison for 39 months after masterminding a high-tech heist that ripped off hard-working ride-share drivers by hijacking their online accounts. Pina pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, crimes that enabled him and a crew of digital thieves to siphon millions from unsuspecting drivers.
According to court documents, Pina wasn’t just a participant—he was a leader in a criminal conspiracy that targeted drivers for two major ride-sharing companies, referred to as Company-1 and Company-2. Posing as company representatives, Pina and his co-defendants cold-called drivers, tricking them into handing over personal identifiers and login credentials. With that info, they broke into driver accounts, changed payment details, and rerouted earnings into bank accounts under their control.
Once inside the accounts, the scheme didn’t stop at theft—it escalated. Pina personally made calls, harvested credentials, hacked into systems, and even recruited others to expand the operation. Hundreds of driver accounts were compromised. Millions vanished. These weren’t faceless corporations bleeding cash—these were individuals, many working long hours just to scrape by, now robbed of their wages by a crew operating from the shadows.
U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, overseeing the case in Manhattan, handed down the 39-month sentence and slapped Pina with a restitution bill totaling $441,775—$198,663 owed to Company-1 and $243,112 to Company-2. The judgment sends a clear message: stealing from gig workers won’t be treated as a victimless crime.
Geoffrey S. Berman, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, didn’t mince words: “Louis Pina was a leader of a criminal consortium that deceived the drivers of two ride-sharing companies, enabling the criminals to access drivers’ accounts and steal millions of dollars. Now Louis Pina is going to prison for his crimes.” The case, one of the most brazen digital fraud operations in recent years, has seen eight defendants plead guilty so far.
The investigation was led by Special Agents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the United States Secret Service, with critical support from the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force. Prosecution was handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sheb Swett and Noah Solowiejczyk leading the charge.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Cybercrime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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