Jacksonville, Florida U.S. District Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger has sentenced Wilbert Theodore (33, Miami) to four years and nine months in federal prison and Ralph August Lohier (30, Miami) to three years and six months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The Court also ordered them to pay restitution to the victims of their crimes and to forfeit computer media and a credit card re-encoder they had used as part of their criminal activity.
According to court documents, in 2016, Lohier and Theodore conspired with another individual in south Florida to obtain debit cards that had been re-encoded with legitimate account numbers belonging to others. In doing so, Lohier was able to obtain fraudulent cards with his name embossed on them. Another portion of the cards were embossed with the name C.S. Thereafter, Theodore obtained a counterfeit Florida driver license in the name of C.S. After obtaining the cards and the counterfeit license, Lohier and Theodore traveled from south Florida to various places, including Flagler and Orange Counties, using the cards. They purchased merchandise, funded reloadable debit cards, and sent and received multiple money transfers through Western Union.
On March 8, 2016, a trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol conducted a traffic stop on I-95 in Flagler County on a vehicle being driven by Lohier, with Theodore inside. During the stop, the trooper located the counterfeit driver license in the name of C.S., but containing a picture of Theodore. While detained in the troopers vehicle, Theodore and Lohier attempted to conceal a large quantity of re-encoded, reloadable debit cards within the rear section of the vehicle.
A search of Lohiers vehicle revealed an additional quantity of re-encoded, reloaded debit cards in the name of the Lohier and C.S, computer media, and a credit card re-encoder. Further investigation determined that Lohier and Theodore possessed 86 re-encoded cards.
This case was investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol and the United States Secret Service - Jacksonville Field Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.
--DOJ Middle District of Florida
Source: U.S. Secret Service