Two Rochester Men Plead Guilty to Credit Card Scheme

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that David Pierleoni, 26, and Victor Ortiz, 40, both of Rochester, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison to be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa J. Miller, who is handling the case, stated that the defendants conspired to obtain credit card information, including numbers, access codes, and expiration dates. Pierleoni and Ortiz obtained the information from a co-defendant and used the information to make unlawful purchases of high-end liquor and food at Rochester businesses. The defendants knew that the credit card numbers had been assigned to other people and that they were not authorized to make purchases with the numbers. As a result of the fraudulent purchases, local businesses incurred losses in excess of $20,000.

The pleas are the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Christopher M. Piehota.

David Pierleoni will be sentenced on January 15, 2013 at 2:00 p.m.; Victor Ortiz on January 23, 2013 at 2:00 p.m., both before Judge Larimer.