BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Eduardo Hernandez Quinones, 46, Yasser Carrillo Chartrand, 23, Claudia Diaz Diaz, 21, and Yaily Santurio, 31, all citizens of Cuba legally present in the United States, were arrested and charged in two criminal complaints with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of two years in prison, a maximum of 30 years, and a fine of $1,000,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell T. Ippolito, Jr., who is handling the case, stated that defendants Hernandez Quinones and Carrillo Chartrand are charged in one complaint as co-conspirators, and Diaz Diaz and Santuro are charged in a separate complaint as co-conspirators.
According to the complaints, the defendants are accused of fraudulently obtaining the actual credit/debit card numbers of actual people and then encoding counterfeit cards with the information illegally obtained. The defendants used the counterfeit cards to purchase merchandise at retail stores throughout Western New York. In addition, the defendants used the counterfeit cards to purchase gasoline from area gas stations and then re-sold the gasoline for cash.
The four defendants made initial appearances today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott. They are being detained. The defendants were arrested in DeWitt, New York and are facing state fraud charges for similar conduct.
The criminal complaints are the result of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero, the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge C. Todd Laster, and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Michael Cerretto.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
