New York Man Admits Credit Card Fraud

CAMDEN, N.J. – A New York man today admitted spending hundreds of thousands of dollars using credit cards he fraudulently opened using the identities of others, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Robert Lourenco, 52, of Queens, New York, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez to one count of an indictment charging him with access device fraud.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

During 2015, Lourenco opened 23 credit cards using the identities of three victims he had befriended, two of whom were senior citizens. Lourenco’s victims did not know he was using their identities to obtain the credit cards, nor did they authorize Lourenco to obtain the credit cards. Lourenco used the 23 credit cards to make more than $423,000 in unauthorized purchases.  He also used the debit card for a joint bank account belonging to two of the victims to make an additional $57,000 in unauthorized charges. Lourenco admitted that he knew at least one of his victims was a vulnerable victim when he used the victim’s identity to commit his crime. 

The charge of access device fraud is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to the greatest of $250,000, twice the gross pecuniary gain derived from the offense, or twice the gross pecuniary loss sustained by any victims of the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 14, 2023.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office for its role in the investigation. 

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.