BOISE - Brian Treadwell, 25, of Buford, Georgia, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Sentencing is set for June 16, 2015, before U.S. District Chief Judge B. Lynn Winmill.
Treadwell was indicted, along with Rakeen Anderson, 31, of Atlanta, Georgia; Kyandre Banks, 34, of Lilburn, Georgia; Terrance Barimah, 26, of Floranceville, Georgia; Clarence Collins, 34, of Douglasville, Georgia; Jean Estinville, 26, of Lawrenceville, Georgia; Rashine Kale, 38, of Lawrenceville, Georgia; Charles Moore, 25, of Stone Mountain, Georgia; Jonathan Penn, 20, of Suwanee, Georgia; and Mikki Williams, 24, of Atlanta, Georgia on charges relating to a wire fraud and identity theft scheme. Banks, Collins, Estinville, Kale, Moore, Penn, Treadwell, and Williams were each charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Anderson was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. Barimah was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and illegal possession of device-making equipment.
According to the plea agreement, Treadwell traveled to the District of Idaho, along with his co-defendants, for the purpose of making fraudulent purchases of gift cards and prepaid debit cards from retail stores, using stolen credit card numbers encoded onto stock debit cards. Treadwell admitted to obtaining the stock debit cards encoded with unauthorized credit card numbers, and making purchases at retail stores on October 5, 2014. In all, Treadwell admitted to traveling to four separate retail stores, and making eight total purchases, using six different credit cards numbers that he was not authorized to use. Upon his arrest, Treadwell was found in possession of 10 debit cards encoded with unauthorized credit card numbers.
Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not more than three years, and a $100 special assessment. Aggravated identity theft is punishable by a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of two years, a term of supervised release of not more than one year, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a special assessment of $100. As part of his plea, Treadwell also agreed to forfeit $49,953.41 in cash proceeds of the charged offenses.
Co-defendants Anderson, Barimah, Collins, Estinville, Kale, Moore, Penn, and Williams are currently scheduled for a jury trial on April 27, 2015. Co-defendant Kyandre Banks remains a fugitive.
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Boise Police Department.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
