In the same case, Judge Vance sentenced ANDRE LION GONCALVES PEREIRA (PEREIRA), age 29, also a citizen of Brazil, to two years of imprisonment for aggravated identity theft. According to the court documents, Pereira and three other Brazilian nationals were arrested by members of the Louisiana Financial Crimes Task Force at a hotel in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans on Aug. 3, 2017. Federal and state law enforcement officers found the defendants in possession of re-encoded credit cards that contained stolen debit card information from actual customers. These individuals also possessed embossers, encoders, ATM skimmers, false identification, and other contraband. In a coordinated investigation with the U.S. Secret Service Oklahoma City Field Office, federal and state law enforcement agents arrested DE ALMEIDA on the same day in Midwest City, Oklahoma. Agents determined that DE ALMEIDA had been mailing skimmers, pinhole cameras, and other tools for credit card fraud to the four New Orleans-based members of this conspiracy. DE ALMEIDA was likewise in possession of stolen debit and credit card information. U.S. District Judge Vance sentenced PEREIRA to two years in prison and one year of supervised release. PEREIRA was ordered to pay restitution, and he faces deportation. As a result of DE ALMEIDAS plea to aggravated identity theft, he faces a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a $250,000.00 fine or a fine equal to the greater of twice the gross gain or twice the gross loss caused by this offense. Judge Vance scheduled DE ALMEIDAS sentencing for January 9, 2019. U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the agencies that contributed to this investigation, which was a coordinated effort among federal and state law enforcement authorities within the Louisiana Financial Crimes Task Force. The Task Force includes representatives from the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Louisiana Attorney Generals Office, the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Department, and the New Orleans Police Department. U.S. Attorney Strasser thanked the U.S. Secret Service Oklahoma City Field Office and the Midwest City, OK Police Department for their assistance. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew R. Payne is in charge of the prosecution.
-- Eastern District of Louisiana
Source: U.S. Secret Service