A Corning woman has been sentenced to 7 years and 2 months in prison for her role in a merchant refund-fraud scheme that attempted to scam financial institutions out of $3.8 million.
Sabrina Raylene Toilolo, 26, was sentenced in Sacramento federal court for her participation in the conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to court documents, Toilolo and her co-defendants, including Johnathon Ward, Monica Nunes, and Talalima Toilolo, conspired to exploit the merchant refund process used by businesses to refund customers for returns, reimbursements, and erroneous charges.
The conspirators stole or purchased point-of-sale terminals used by businesses to process bankcard transactions and programmed them to make it appear as if they were authorized by a particular retail merchant.
The terminals were then connected to payment processing intermediaries, and the conspirators executed refund transactions even though no purchases had been made.
The payment processors, falsely believing the terminals were authorized, approved the refunds and caused the merchants’ payment processors to transfer funds to the conspirators’ fraudulent accounts.
Toilolo’s co-defendants, Nunes and Talalima Toilolo, were previously sentenced to 12 and a half years and 10 years in prison, respectively. Ward, who pleaded guilty, is scheduled to be sentenced on November 9, 2023.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Delaney is prosecuting the case, which is the product of an investigation by the Regional Enforcement Allied Computer Team (REACT) Task Force.
Related Federal Cases
- Christopher Guilford, Tax Refund Scheme, California 2025 · Alaska
- Amy Evangelista, Tax Fraud, California 2023 · California
- Nazaret Chakrian, ID Theft and Wire Fraud, California 2023 · Idaho
- Federal Regulators, Lifel, Securities Fraud, California 2020 · Connecticut
- McKenzie Marie Earley, $10M Wire Fraud, C.D. California, 2023 · Louisiana
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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