A Houston man has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud. U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced that Daniel Rodriguez Martinez, 51, pleaded guilty on May 1 and was ordered by Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane to serve 54 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
During the hearing, evidence showed that Martinez personally received $1.4 million from the scheme and played a key role by creating a fraudulent company to hide payments. The scheme ran from March 2021 to May 2024, involving the creation of a fake utility company using stolen personal information to open electricity accounts with real providers.
Customers were charged a flat fee of $80 per month for uninterrupted electricity while billing responsibilities fell on victims whose identities were used without consent. When services were cut off due to nonpayment, new accounts were opened under different fake identities.
Martinez admitted he created the fake company solely for concealing the theft scheme and used peer-to-peer apps like CashApp and Zelle to receive payments before transferring them into a business account.
As part of his plea agreement, Martinez will forfeit $456,859.76 in currency and his interest in multiple properties. He remains in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
The FBI conducted the investigation with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose A. Garcia prosecuting the case.
