According to court documents, JOSEPH and the other defendants engaged in a scheme to obtain merchandise and cash from stores through fraud. The defendants obtained stolen credit and debit card information, encoded it onto cards, and then used that information to purchase items at stores. The defendants would then return the items at a different store of the same chain, but they would deceive store workers in order to have the chargeback credited to their own bank accounts. Court documents also detail how JOSEPH took flights with several other co-conspirators to perform fraudulent credit card transactions in various cities in the United States, including St. Louis, Missouri; Richmond, Virginia; Nashville, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Cincinnati, Ohio. JOSEPH was also arrested in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and Franklin, Tennessee, while committing credit card fraud.
Federal agents located social media posts by JOSEPH that further established the fraud. For example, a July 2018 Instagram post showed JOSEPH sitting on the hood of a Mercedes with the caption, Im living proof that crime do pay. Another post by JOSEPH in September 2018 showed him in Atlanta with the caption only ducking indictments, just six days after two of JOSEPHS co-conspirators had been arrested. In his plea documents, JOSEPH admitted that he caused between $250,000.00 and $550,000.00 in losses through his own conduct and that of his co-conspirators.
JOSEPH pleaded guilty to three counts of the Third Superseding Indictment. He pleaded to one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, for which he faces a maximum penalty of five years of imprisonment. He pleaded to one count of aggravated identity theft, for which he must be sentenced to two years of imprisonment to be served consecutively with any other count. He also pleaded to one count of possession of access device-making equipment, which carries a maximum sentence of fifteen years in prison. Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000.00, or twice the gross gain or gross loss caused by this scheme. Sentencing is set for May 28, 2020, before Judge Ashe.
U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the agencies that contributed to this conviction, which represents a coordinated effort of federal and state law enforcement authorities within the Louisiana Financial Crimes Task Force. The Task Force includes representatives from the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Louisiana Attorney Generals Office, Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office, New Orleans Police Department, Covington Police Department, Hammond Police Department, Kenner Police Department, Louisiana State Police, Mandeville Police Department, Slidell Police Department, St. Bernard Parish Sheriffs Office, St. John The Baptist Sheriffs Office, St. Tammany Parish Sheriffs Office, Tangipahoa Parish Sheriffs Office, St. Tammany Parish District Attorneys Office, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. State Department, Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration-Office of Inspector General, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. U.S. Attorney Strasser also thanked the Franklin (TN) Police Department, the Mobile Police Department, the Gulfport Police Department, the Minnetonka (MN) Police Department, the Jefferson Parish District Attorneys Office, and the Orleans Parish District Attorneys Office for their assistance. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew R. Payne and K. Paige OHale are in charge of the prosecution.
-- Eastern District of Louisiana
Source: U.S. Secret Service