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Steven Short, Credit Card Laundering, New York 2024
A Florida-based telemarketing operation has been brought to justice, with its former head, Steven Short, being sentenced to 78 months in prison for his role in a $19 million credit card laundering scheme. The scheme, which lasted for two years, targeted vulnerable individuals with outstanding credit card debt, charging them fees up to $1,495 in exchange for debt consolidation and interest-rate reduction services.
According to the investigation, Short controlled E.M. Systems, a company that carried out a telemarketing fraud scheme from 2012 to 2015. Telemarketers would cold-call consumers, offering them services that were prohibited by the applicable guidelines and would produce chargebacks from dissatisfied customers. The scheme generated over $19 million in fraud proceeds from more than 19,000 customers.
Short sought access to the credit card processing market through CardReady, a Los Angeles-based company that acted as a sales agent in the credit card processing industry. Under their deal, CardReady kept approximately one-third of the credit card sale transactions of Short and E.M. Systems in exchange for providing them access to the credit card processing network.
As part of their scheme, Short and his co-conspirators created approximately 26 sham merchant companies, each headed by a “signer” who typically had no business of their own and knew little or nothing about E.M. Systems’ business. These false merchant applications concealed the Sham Merchant’s true association with E.M. Systems.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said, “Over a two-year period, Steven Short and his co-conspirators used shell companies to deceive credit card payment processors into processing more than $19 million obtained from more than 19,000 victims nationwide. Short preyed on vulnerable people in credit card debt, charging fees up to $1,495 in exchange for guaranteeing to reduce their debt and lower their interest rates, but instead generally sent them cookie-cutter booklets with ordinary budgeting advice.”
Short previously pled guilty to the conspiracy charge and was sentenced today before United States District Judge Loretta A. Preska. The case serves as a reminder of the importance of protecting consumers from fraudulent activities and the consequences of perpetuating such schemes.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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