BOISE - Yinet Quintana Isalgue, 27, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Quintana Isalgue was indicted by a federal grand jury on Feb. 11, 2015.
As described in the factual basis of the plea agreement, read in court during the plea hearing, Quintana Isalgue travelled from Florida to Idaho to commit credit card fraud. On January 9, 2015, law enforcement in Boise and Meridian, Idaho, received multiple reports from loss prevention officers at different retail stores identifying Quintana Isalgue through witness and surveillance evidence, as attempting credit card fraud.
The next day, Quintana Isalgue was contacted by law enforcement when they executed a search warrant signed by a State of Idaho Magistrate Judge on the hotel room where she was staying. Inside the room in Quintana Isalgue’s purse and wallet, law enforcement found 17 counterfeit credit cards, 2 counterfeit driver’s licenses, and 35 gift cards. The counterfeit credit cards were embossed with real account numbers and a fake name. The two counterfeit driver’s licenses had names matching those on the credit cards, but using Quintana Isalgue’s picture and actual birthdate. Some of the gift cards found in her purse were identified as the gift cards Quintana Isalgue fraudulently purchased earlier in the day.
Based upon video surveillance, loyalty card records, GPS, and credit card records, law enforcement discovered that Quintana Isalgue made similar fraudulent purchases in Oregon and Washington. She admitted $97,496.11 in actual fraudulent purchases, and an additional $19,288.24 in attempted purchases, for a total of $116,784.35, between Nov. 28, 2014, and January 9, 2015. She also admitted that she knowingly and fraudulently used the credit card number of a real person.
Wire fraud is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to twenty years, a term of supervised release of not more than three years, a maximum fine of $250,000.00, and a special assessment of $100. Aggravated identity theft is punishable by a mandatory term of imprisonment of two years consecutive to the underlying wire fraud.
Sentencing is set before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise on Nov. 3, 2015.
“This case demonstrates how vigilant cooperation between federal and local law enforcement, and local businesses, protects Idaho consumers from credit card fraud and other violations of financial security," said Olson.
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, the Boise Police Department, and the Meridian Police Department.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
