St. Louis, MO - Three individuals living in the Seattle area have been charged in federal court for possessing more than fifteen counterfeit credit cards. Heben Sebhatu, Fana Kiros and Kayla Burleson were arrested on a criminal complaint and made their initial appearance in federal court in St. Louis today.
According to the complaint, the defendants were arrested in the early morning hours of March 25, 2016, after a traffic stop by the Ladue police department revealed more than 100 suspicious credit and gift cards, computer equipment and a credit card encoding machine. While in custody, one of the defendants admitted the group had traveled from Seattle to the Midwest and made fraudulent transactions with the credit cards to obtain gift cards and money orders in different states. Defendant Sebhatu was found to be on bond out of Pierce County, Washington, for First Degree Identity Theft.
If convicted of possession of counterfeit access devices in violation to Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3), the defendants face up to 10 years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000 or both. In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges. Restitution to the victim financial institutions and business is also mandatory.
The case is being investigated by the Ladue Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service - St. Louis Office. Assistant United States Attorney Dianna Collins is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
As is always the case, charges set forth in a federal complaint are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
