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Lowe’s Gift Card Scam Nets $250K
Baltimore, MD – Lucerte ‘Lisa’ Abellard, 35, of Dobbs Ferry, New York, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud Lowe’s stores.
According to her plea agreement, Abellard called employees at Lowe’s stores around the United States, pretending to be from the ‘IT department’ at Lowe’s headquarters, telling the Lowe’s employee that she received a report there were problems with a register at the Lowe’s store. She would then ask the employee to run a series of diagnostics on the register, often pretending to be able to see the tests remotely.
The purported diagnostics ended with a ‘test’ transaction that put a credit on a Lowe’s gift card – usually about $3,000 to $4,000. In reality, this ‘test’ transaction put a credit onto a Lowe’s card possessed by Abellard or her co-conspirators.
Abellard received a portion of the value on the gift card she fraudulently credited from the co-conspirators to whom she sold the cards. After obtaining the fraudulent credit, Abellard would contact the co-conspirator that had paid her for the card, advise that person of the credit and that the card needed to be used quickly before Lowe’s detected the fraud.
The total loss to Lowe’s as a result of the scheme was more than $250,000. Abellard faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander scheduled her sentencing for September 26, 2013, at 10:00 a.m.
Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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