Portland, Maine: Acting United States Attorney Richard W. Murphy announced that Jose Castillo Febles, 30, of Doral, Florida pleaded guilty today; and Juan Carlos Febles, 52, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Court records show that between November 2015 and June 2016, the defendants and others used stolen credit and debit card numbers to purchase merchandise. In late May 2016, as part of the conspiracy, the defendants and others traveled to Maine. On May 29, 2016, Jose Castillo Febles purchased over $500 of merchandise at a Portland Walgreens using a stolen card number belonging to a victim from Auburn. On June 15, 2016, after a co-conspirator, Yaisder Herrera Gargallo, purchased merchandise at another Portland Walgreens using a stolen card number, store personnel notified the police and provided a license plate number. On June 16, 2016, Juan Carlos Febles purchased over $700 of merchandise at an Augusta Home Depot using a stolen card number belonging to a victim from Vassalboro.
On June 18, 2016, a Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped the vehicle in which the defendants and Herrera Gargallo were traveling. The stop led to their arrest and the discovery of merchandise, numerous fraudulent credit cards, and a laptop computer. The laptop was later found to contain credit card numbers and related data.
Both men face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge. Both men also face a mandatory sentence of two years in prison on the aggravated identity theft charge, to be served consecutively to the sentence imposed for the conspiracy charge. They will be sentenced after the completion of presentence investigation reports by the U.S. Probation Office. Co-defendant Yaisder Herrera Gargallo pleaded guilty to the same charges on June 19, 2017, and awaits sentencing.
The case was investigated by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, the Portland Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
