Crew That Skimmed Credit/Debit Card Numbers Sentenced to Prison

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Six Cuban nationals have been sentenced, including most recently the leader of the crew, for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, the six conspirators placed skimming devices on gas pumps located in Northampton County within the Eastern District of Virginia. The skimming devices were capable of recording the credit and debit card numbers, along with their PINs, of the customers that used their cards at the gas pumps. In April and May 2018, using the stolen card information, the defendants traveled between Harris Teeter store locations, among other destinations, to withdraw money from the victims’ bank accounts and purchase prepaid gift cards.

In addition, many of the conspirators had significant criminal histories involving the same conduct and were known to travel the country perpetrating this scheme. The leader of the crew, Yasmani Granja Quijada, was found to be trading over 9,800 additional stolen credit card numbers using his email account over the past few years. The crew was attributed with aggregate losses of over $5,000,000 over several years. The FBI and U.S. Marshals Service seized numerous vehicles and other items that were purchased by the defendants with funds stolen through credit cards, including a 2006 Triton 2895CC Boat and trailer, a 2017 Ford F250 Super Cab truck, a 2016 Cruise Radiance Travel Trailer RV, a 2017 Ford Escape SUV, a 2017 Maserati Ghibli, and a 2013 Porsche Panamera. Several other conspirators remain at large and are believed to be living in Mexico.

Below is a table that lists the name, age, hometown, respective charge(s) for which each defendant was convicted, and the sentence he received:

Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; David L. Doughty, Jr., Northampton County Sheriff; and Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi prosecuted the case.

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