Ohio Man Gets 33 Months in Credit Card Scam

BEAUMONT, TX – The feds tossed Mohamed Laye Dioubate, 29, of Columbus, Ohio, into a cell for 33 months today, capping a case built on a mountain of stolen plastic and a trail of fraudulent purchases. U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced the sentence following a hearing before Judge Marcia Crone. Dioubate, a naturalized citizen originally from Guinea, was convicted by a jury in December 2013 of possessing 15 or more unauthorized access devices – in this case, a whole lot of fake credit cards.

The bust went down on June 27, 2012, when a Beaumont police officer pulled Dioubate over on Interstate-10 for a routine traffic stop. That ‘routine’ stop quickly turned into a jackpot for investigators. A search of his vehicle revealed a staggering 158 fraudulent credit cards, a laptop computer, and a credit card encoder – the tools of the trade for a professional skimmer. These weren’t blank cards either; they bore a variety of names and account numbers and had already been used to rack up fraudulent charges across the country.

This wasn’t a one-off incident. Law enforcement had Dioubate on their radar before the I-10 stop. In November 2012, he was caught twice – once in Missouri and again in Indiana – each time with a stash of bogus credit cards. Authorities pieced together the evidence, and in April 2013, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas slapped Dioubate with federal charges. The investigation quickly showed a pattern of interstate fraud, a clear signal this wasn’t some small-time operation.

The scheme involved encoding stolen credit card information onto the fraudulent cards, then using them to make unauthorized purchases. While the exact amount of the fraudulent purchases wasn’t disclosed, the sheer number of cards indicates a significant financial impact on victims. The investigation spanned multiple states and required the combined efforts of several law enforcement agencies, showcasing the complexity of these types of crimes.

The Beaumont Police Department, the U.S. Secret Service, the St. Charles County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Office, and the Henry County, Indiana, Sheriff’s Office all contributed to the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher T. Tortorice and Brit Featherston handled the prosecution, building a solid case that ultimately led to Dioubate’s conviction and sentencing. The feds are sending a message: rip off enough people, and you *will* face serious time.

For citizens looking to protect themselves from identity theft and credit card fraud, the Federal Trade Commission offers resources on their website: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft. Staying vigilant and monitoring your accounts is the best defense against these criminals. And remember, if something feels off, report it immediately.

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