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Raquan Etheridge, Counterfeit Gift Cards, South Carolina 2015
FLORENCE, South Carolina – Raquan Etheridge, a 28-year-old man from Long Island City, New York, was sentenced to 42 months imprisonment and ordered to pay $7,986.31 in restitution for knowingly possessing 309 counterfeit gift cards with intent to defraud.
According to court documents, Etheridge was arrested on January 23, 2015, after deputies with the Dillon County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of an individual using a stolen credit card at a business in Latta. Deputies located a Gold minivan with Florida license plates, identified Etheridge as the driver, and conducted a search of the vehicle.
During the search, deputies recovered 309 counterfeit gift cards that had been encoded with unauthorized account numbers belonging to numerous other individuals. They also found receipts reflecting purchases of cigarettes from businesses in different states, including Virginia and South Carolina, which purchases were made with some of the counterfeit cards.
Additionally, over 170 cartons and 193 loose packs of cigarettes were recovered from the van.
The case was investigated by agents of the United States Secret Service with the assistance of the Dillon County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney A. Bradley Parham of the Florence office is prosecuting the case.
Raquan Etheridge, 28, of Long Island City, New York, was sentenced to 42 months imprisonment and ordered to pay $7,986.31 in restitution for knowingly possessing 309 counterfeit gift cards with intent to defraud, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3).
The evidence presented at the guilty plea hearing established that Etheridge’s actions were a serious crime that affected many individuals.
Key Facts
- State: South Carolina
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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