McALLEN, Texas - A Cuban citizen has been ordered to federal prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. Jorge Ernesto Blanco-Rodriguez, 43, a Cuban and Spanish citizen who resided in Havana, Cuba, pleaded guilty April 18, 2016.
Today, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane ordered he serve a total of 135 months in federal prison and to pay $602,864.13 in restitution. He is expected to face deportation proceedings following his release from prison.
Blanco-Rodriguez operated out of Cuba and was in the business of selling stolen credit and debit card numbers to various people over the Internet. The investigation began after authorities identified and arrested two Mexican nationals for credit card fraud. Information discovered following the execution of search warrants related to those arrests led to the identification of Blanco-Rodriguez as the individual selling the credit card information.
He was ultimately arrested as he traveled to Florida to visit family.
Authorities ultimately found more than 12,000 affected credit and debit card numbers in Blanco-Rodriguez’s possession for sale, many of which came from large data breaches. Approximately $788,000 in fraudulent transactions have been identified from the compromised accounts.
Blanco-Rodriguez will remain in custody pending his transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Secret Service and McAllen Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Leonard prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
