Sacramento man Yasir Mehmood, 45, was hit with a 4-year, 6-month federal prison sentence Tuesday for a calculated identity theft and bank fraud scheme that bled hundreds of customers dry. U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez handed down the sentence after Mehmood admitted to exploiting his role as an IT contractor to steal sensitive financial data and funnel fraudulent transactions into accounts he controlled.
Court documents reveal Mehmood was hired in 2011 to repair computer systems at a Marin County-based eyeglass retailer. Long after his contract ended, he illegally accessed the company’s database—hundreds of customer records containing credit and debit card numbers, security codes, names, phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses. That data became his weapon. He used it to buy luxury goods, load up on gift cards, and process fake merchant payments—all routed to bank accounts under his name.
But Mehmood didn’t stop at data theft. He expanded his criminal reach by registering fraudulent websites and posting fake job listings designed to trap online shoppers and job seekers. These traps harvested more personal and financial information, feeding a growing web of deception that federal investigators say spanned years and crossed multiple jurisdictions.
The manhunt intensified in 2013 when Mehmood, released on bail and under electronic monitoring, cut off his ankle monitor and vanished. His flight didn’t last long. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department tracked him down and arrested him, sealing his path to prosecution. His actions didn’t just breach trust—they violated federal law, resulting in convictions for both bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Rafael Nunez, San Francisco Division Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, emphasized the agency’s commitment: “We are working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partners in law enforcement to arrest and prosecute those responsible for complex identity fraud schemes and to protect postal customer’s mail and personal information from theft.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with critical support from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Spivak and Trial Attorney Manish Kumar of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division handled the prosecution, ensuring Mehmood faced the full weight of federal justice.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Cybercrime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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