Steven Short, Credit Card Laundering, New York 2023

Steven Short, the former head of Florida-based E.M. Systems & Services LLC, was sentenced to 78 months in prison for his role in a $19 million credit card laundering scheme.

According to the U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, Short and his co-conspirators used shell companies to deceive credit card payment processors into processing more than $19 million obtained from over 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. However, he generally sent them cookie-cutter booklets with ordinary budgeting advice.

The scheme involved Short and his co-conspirators using telemarketers to cold-call consumers, targeting those with outstanding credit card debt. In exchange for fees, they offered services such as debt consolidation and interest-rate reduction, which were prohibited by the applicable guidelines.

Short and E.M. Systems generated over $19 million in fraud proceeds from more than 19,000 customers through this scheme, resulting in thousands of complaints by customers of fraud and deceptive tactics.

Short sought access to the credit card processing market through CardReady, a Los Angeles-based company acting as a sales agent in the credit card processing industry. CardReady found merchants who wanted credit card processing services, such as Short, and submitted merchant applications on behalf of those merchants to a Manhattan-based Independent Sales Organization.

The court filings revealed that Short and his co-conspirators created approximately 26 sham merchant companies, each headed by a ‘signer’ who had no business of their own and knew little or nothing about E.M. Systems’ business. In return for signing paperwork, the signers were paid a nominal fee by CardReady.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated, ‘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.’

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