October 16, 2014

New Orleans Man, Curtis Anderson, Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Possession of Stolen Credit and Debit Card Numbers

U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that CURTIS ANDERSON, age 36, a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced today after having previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and possession of unauthorized access devices.

U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo sentenced ANDERSON to serve 27 months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, and a $200 special assessment. ANDERSON was also ordered to pay $75,361.68 to BP and the banks that suffered financial losses as a result of his card skimming scheme.

According to court documents, between September 2010 and January 2011, ANDERSON submitted false documents and made false statements to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (“GCCF”) in support of his claim that his janitorial business lost income as a result of the BP oil spill. In addition to defrauding BP,ANDERSON was found to be in possession of 317 unauthorized access devices (credit and debit card account numbers) that belonged to other individuals.

This case was brought as part of this District’s partnership with the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF), a nationwide initiative to protect available funds and assistance for those victims of both natural and man-made disasters such as hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and the recent Gulf oil spill. If you have knowledge of fraud, waste, abuse, or allegations of mismanagement involving disaster relief operations, you can contact the NCDF by either calling the hotline at (866) 720-5721, faxing (225) 334-4707, e-mailing at disaster@leo.gov or in writing to National Center for Disaster Fraud, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4909.

U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Secret Service and FBI in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Spiro G. Latsis is in charge of the prosecution.