U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that JULIET ESTRADA PEREZ, 24, a Cuban national, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. ESTRADA PEREZ had resided in Florida before traveling to the New Orleans area to steal credit card information.
U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown sentenced ESTRADA PEREZ to 36 months imprisonment to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. As part of sentencing, ESTRADA PEREZ was ordered to pay restitution of $7,873.97 jointly and severally with her codefendants and a $100 special assessment.
According to court records, in April 2016, while on bond in this case, ESTRADA PEREZ and a codefendant were arrested in the Southern District of Florida on new state charges of committing credit card fraud. She and two other codefendants were later found in the Florida Strait between Florida and Cuba by the United States Coast Guard and subsequently arrested. In total, six defendants have pleaded guilty in the case to conspiring among themselves and with others to with possessing fifteen or more unauthorized and counterfeit access devices, as well as producing, possessing, and trafficking device-making equipment. Additionally, court records indicate the defendants traveled from Florida in late July, 2015 and agreed to place card skimming devices on gas pumps in the New Orleans area. They also admitted to, among other things, possessing a card encoding machine, a card embossing machine, and a laptop computer containing stolen credit card information.
U.S. Attorney Polite commended the work of Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, the United States Secret Service, and Homeland Security Investigations, who investigated the case. Assistant Attorney Hayden Brockett was in charge of the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
