Shahin Abdollahi, Gift Card Fraud, Massachusetts 2023

California Men Charged with Hacking into Subway Gift Card Systems

BOSTON, March 6, 2023 – Two California men have been charged with remotely hacking into the computerized cash registers of Subway restaurants in order to fraudulently obtain gift cards.

Shahin Abdollahi, 46, of Lake Elsinore, Calif., and Jeffrey Thomas Wilkinson, 35, of Rialto, Calif., were both charged with one count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and wire fraud, and one count of wire fraud.

According to an indictment unsealed late yesterday, Abdollahi owned Subway franchises in Southern California from 2005 to 2008, and later operated a California company called ‘POS Doctor,’ which sold and installed point-of-sale (POS) computer systems to Subway restaurant franchises around the country.

The indictment alleges that beginning in approximately 2011, Abdollahi and Wilkinson conspired to remotely hack into POS systems in Subway restaurant franchises around the country. Members of the conspiracy allegedly hacked into at least 13 Subway POS systems that Abdollahi sold through POS Doctor and fraudulently added at least $40,000 in value to Subway gift cards.

Abdollahi and Wilkinson allegedly used the fraudulent gift cards to make purchases at Subway, and Wilkinson also allegedly sold fraudulent gift cards to others using eBay and Craigslist.

The statutory maximum penalty is 20 years in prison to be followed by up to three years of supervised release. Abdollahi is scheduled to have his initial appearance on March 27 at 3:00 p.m.

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