ALBANY, NY – A Miami man is headed to federal prison and a woman has been placed on probation after both were convicted for their roles in a sprawling money laundering scheme tied to a nationwide network of gas station skimming devices. The operation, which ran from December 2015 to July 2019, siphoned funds from unsuspecting drivers across the country.
Yanio Montes de Oca, age 35, of Miami, Florida, received a 27-month prison sentence on Tuesday. His accomplice, Atnetys Ferreira Milian, age 42, also of Miami, received 1 year of probation. The sentences were handed down by Senior United States District Judge Gary L. Sharpe, following guilty pleas entered earlier. Federal investigators say the pair were key players in washing illicit funds obtained through stolen credit and debit card information.
De Oca admitted to laundering thousands of gift cards acquired using fraudulently obtained debit and credit cards. These cards were generated using skimming devices attached to gas station pumps, capturing account details as customers made purchases. He then sold these gift cards on a gift card exchange website, establishing a “bulk seller” account under the name of a Florida company he created in 2015 specifically for this purpose. The proceeds were deposited into accounts he controlled, with a portion distributed to other conspirators and the remainder retained for his personal gain. De Oca will also be subject to a forfeiture money judgment totaling $1,020,193.10.
Ferreira Milian’s role involved laundering money orders purchased with fraudulent debit cards also derived from the gas station skimming operation. She deposited over 1,100 money orders, totaling over $691,000, into multiple bank accounts under her control, then withdrew the majority of the funds in cash. Her plea agreement includes a forfeiture money judgment of $49,162.00. Investigators traced the stolen account numbers back to gas pumps nationwide, revealing the scale of the criminal enterprise.
The investigation was a joint effort led by the FBI Albany Field Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Boston Division, with significant assistance from FBI Field Offices in Miami and Pittsburgh, the USPIS Miami Division, and the United States Secret Service Miami Field Office. The Secret Service’s involvement underscores the increasing sophistication of these types of financial crimes and the need for multi-agency cooperation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Belliss prosecuted the case. Following his prison term, Montes de Oca will serve a 3-year term of supervised release. This case serves as a stark warning that those involved in exploiting vulnerable payment systems and laundering illicit funds will face serious federal consequences, no matter how complex their schemes become. The investigation remains ongoing, with authorities continuing to pursue other individuals involved in the wider skimming network.
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Key Facts
- Agency: U.S. Secret Service
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Press Release
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