5 Guilty Pleas in ID Theft Fraud Scheme

Five out of eight defendants have pleaded guilty for their role in an identity theft scheme involving the theft of personal information from an AT&T call center for use in unauthorized wire transfers and to obtain credit and debit cards.

See Also: Scams & Mule Defense: Real-Time Scam Prevention and Advanced Money Mule Detection

The fraud scheme involved exfiltrating data from a call center that handles direct sales and customer inquiries for AT&T and then using it for fraudulent purposes, prosecutors say (see: 8 Charged in ID Theft Fraud Scheme).

On July 30, Jacqueline Nicole Lee Warrick of Miami and Tracy Delva of Deerfield Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty to charges stemming from their participation in the scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. Warrick and Delva each pleaded guilty to one count of using an unauthorized access device and one count of aggravated identity theft. Sentencing for the two defendants is scheduled for October 15.

Carlos Antonio Alexander of Orlando pleaded guilty on July 16 to using an unauthorized access device and aggravated identity theft, and is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 1, authorities say. Chouman Emily Syrilien of Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., pleaded guilty on May 19 to possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices and aggravated identity theft and is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 6. Angel Arcos of Pompano Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty on May 15 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and will be sentenced Sept. 3.

Change of plea hearings are scheduled on Sept. 3 for defendant Monique Smith of Pompano Beach, Fla., and Shantegra La'Shae Godfrey of Deerfield Beach, Fla. A trial is scheduled on Sept. 22 for Arrington Basil Segu of Miami.

Fraud Scheme

The indictment says Syrilien was employed by Interactive Response Technologies, located in Margate, Fla., a company that provides staffing for call centers to handle direct sales and customer inquiries for AT&T.

Employees of IRT have access to personal information for customers of AT&T, including names, addresses, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, credit and debit card numbers, credit card verification numbers, personal identity numbers and passwords, according to the indictment.

Syrilien, along with another defendant allegedly provided co-conspirators with the personal identifying information from multiple AT&T customer files. Other defendants allegedly allowed their names to be added as "authorized users" on the credit or debit card accounts or bank accounts of the victims who had their personal information stolen, authorities say.

Once a co-conspirator's name was added as an authorized user, the bank or credit card company was directed to mail additional debit or credit cards bearing the names of these newly added users to their addresses, without the true account holder's knowledge or consent, authorities allege. The defendants used then used these cards to make purchases or obtain cash.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for the conspiracy charge; a maximum of 10 years in prison for the access device fraud charge; and a mandatory term of two years in prison for each aggravated identity theft charge.