Brazilian Citizens Plead Guilty To Using Counterfeit Credit Cards To Purchase Over $52,000 In Merchandise And To Aggravated Identity Theft
Baltimore, Maryland – Two Brazilian citizens residing in Florida have pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud charges in connection with a scheme to use counterfeit debit and credit cards to purchase merchandise at various retail stores in Maryland and other states.
Lucas Pimenta Diogo Das Gracas, age 23, pleaded guilty today, and his co-conspirator, Diogo Miranda Araujo, age 23, pleaded guilty on December 7, 2018. Araujo also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft for his role in the scheme in Maryland. Das Gracas also pleaded guilty to possession of counterfeit access devices and aggravated identity theft in connection with a separate case pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.
Another co-conspirator, Victor Andrade Carneiro Brito, pleaded guilty to possession and use of counterfeit access devices and aggravated identity theft in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on October 5, 2018.
The guilty pleas were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Sung Yi of the U.S. Secret Service, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Raimund Seifart of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service – Washington Field Office; Colonel Lance Royce of the Naval Support Activity Police Department; and Colonel Woodrow Jones, Chief of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police.
According to Araujo’s plea agreement, in November 2017, while he was on pretrial release for related Illinois state charges, Araujo traveled from Florida to Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. Araujo obtained a large number of cloned payment cards as well as fake Brazilian identification cards that were used in fraudulent retail transactions in Maryland and the surrounding area.
On November 19, Araujo was arrested by a Maryland Transportation Authority Police (“MTAP”) officer who conducted a traffic stop of Araujo’s vehicle and learned that Araujo was driving on a suspended license. A search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of approximately 164 counterfeit payment cards, four fake Brazilian identification cards displaying the same photo of Araujo but listing four different names, multiple receipts, and several recently purchased items of merchandise, including two laptop computers, six GPS devices, and sports equipment. Merchandise recovered from the vehicle had an approximate total value of $4,355.
Also in November 2017, Das Gracas, Brito, and another co-conspirator possessed at least 189 counterfeit payments cards, which they used, along with false identification documents, to rent a vehicle and make fraudulent retail purchases in Maryland and surrounding states. Das Gracas and Brito were arrested in Maryland on November 29, 2017, after they and another co-conspirator made numerous purchases of computers and other merchandise using the counterfeit payment cards.
Araujo further admitted that from May through July 2017, he traveled from Florida to Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Illinois making fraudulent purchases at retailers using counterfeit payment cards. Specifically, co-conspirators in Florida sent Araujo cloned payment cards, which Araujo would pick up at commercial mail service locations and use at retailers in the area.
The scheme resulted in the purchase of over $52,000 in merchandise. The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on May 16, 2019, and could face up to 30 years in prison for the wire fraud charges and up to 2 years for the aggravated identity theft charges.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Naval Support Activity Police Department, and Maryland Transportation Authority Police.
Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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