BUFFALO, N.Y. – Yordani Ramirez Salgado, 28, of Miami, Florida, is facing up to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The bust, a joint effort led by the U.S. Secret Service, reveals a sophisticated scheme that stretched from the Sunshine State to the frozen landscape of Western New York, costing financial institutions over $120,000.
According to court documents, Salgado, along with co-conspirators Ernesto Alvarez Santos and Abel Garcia Fernandez, flew into Hartford, Connecticut, in January 2017. The trio then made their way to Hamburg, New York, where Fernandez allegedly supplied them with a cache of counterfeit access devices – re-encoded gift cards loaded with stolen account numbers from legitimate credit and debit cards. The operation wasn’t about buying luxury goods; it was about rapid-fire gift card purchases and quick cash.
Between January 23rd and 24th, Salgado and Santos hit multiple Walmart stores across Erie, Niagara, and Orleans Counties. They used a staggering 129 different counterfeit cards to purchase legitimate Walmart gift cards. These weren’t kept for personal use. Instead, the numbers from these newly-acquired gift cards were immediately transmitted to an additional accomplice via cellular phone, allowing for further fraudulent activity. Authorities also discovered the pair possessed another 102 counterfeit access devices at the time of their arrest.
The victims? Everyday account holders who had no knowledge their credit or debit card information was being used. The total estimated loss from the scheme is $120,689.02. While Salgado has now admitted his guilt, his associate, Ernesto Alvarez Santos, has already been convicted and sentenced, suggesting a wider network of criminal activity. The Secret Service, under Special Agent-in-Charge Lewis Robinson, spent months unraveling the operation, tracing the flow of funds and identifying the key players.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Bonanno is prosecuting the case, and will be seeking a maximum penalty for Salgado, which includes a potential 30-year prison sentence and a $1,000,000 fine. The plea brings a measure of closure to the investigation, but the case serves as a stark reminder of the ever-present threat of financial fraud and the lengths criminals will go to exploit the financial system.
Yordani Ramirez Salgado is scheduled to be sentenced on March 5, 2018, before Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. The Department of Justice, Western District of New York, expects to provide further details following the sentencing hearing. The Secret Service continues to investigate related cases and pursue other individuals involved in this fraudulent scheme.
Related Federal Cases
- Angel L. Morales, ID Theft and Bank Fraud, NY 2024 · Pennsylvania
- Brian Ferraioli, Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud, Connecticut 2023 · New Mexico
- Roydel Nicholson, Mail Fraud and Money Laundering, NY 2023 · North Carolina
- Lisa Reid, Identity Theft and Credit Card Fraud, New York 2024 · Kentucky
- Victoria Totten, Elderly Fraud, Arizona 2024 · Arizona
Key Facts
- Agency: U.S. Secret Service
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Press Release
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