Plattsburgh Man Sentenced to 63 Months for Online Fraud

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https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndny/pr/pl ... line-fraud

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Northern District of New York
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 16, 2018

Plattsburgh Man Sentenced to 63 Months for Online Fraud
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Thomas J. Howe, age 38, of Plattsburgh, New York, was sentenced yesterday to 63 months in prison and 3 years of post-release supervision for committing fraud and identity theft.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith; James N. Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Plattsburgh Police Chief Levi J. Ritter.

As part of his plea on April 4, 2018, Howe admitted that he and Jared R. Hudson devised a scheme to defraud banks, merchants and individual consumers by purchasing information including credit card numbers, bank account numbers, expiration dates, security codes, answers to security questions, and other personal identification information, and to using that information to electronically purchase goods, and to fraudulently transfer and attempt to transfer funds electronically, between October 2009 and December 2014.

Initially, Howe used stolen credit card numbers belonging to others to order merchandise online, and had the merchandise shipped to him. Howe then used other people’s personal identification information to sign up for credit cards. He then opened investment accounts in his name, which were funded with money taken from other people’s bank accounts abusing stolen account numbers, routing numbers, identification, and bank security information. Howe admitted that his conduct caused at least $508,053.33 in losses.

Hudson was sentenced on January 10, 2018 to 79 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Plattsburgh Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Collyer.

Topic(s):
Cyber Crime
Financial Fraud
Component(s):
USAO - New York, Northern
Updated August 16, 2018