New York Man Convicted for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud

United States Attorney Joe Kelly announced that Jose Munoz Perdomo, 24, formerly of Bronx, New York, was sentenced today in Lincoln, Nebraska, by Chief United States District Judge John M. Gerrard for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  Perdomo was sentenced for a term of 14 months’ imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release with special conditions.  He will also be required to pay $52,587.31 in restitution, to be paid joint and several with codefendant, Melissa Carmona Valenzuela, who will be sentenced at a later date.  There is no parole in the federal system. 

Jose Munoz Perdomo and his co-defendant, Melissa Carmona Valenzuela, traveled through the state of Colorado and subsequently in Nebraska perpetrating a fraudulent scheme against Verizon Wireless. It was part of the scheme that the conspirators used stolen personal identifying information, including an individual’s name and social security number, to create Verizon Wireless accounts. Once a Verizon account was created, Valenzuela was made an authorized user on the account and she would access the account to purchase electronic devices and accessories. The conspirators traveled to different Verizon stores/retailers, and at each Verizon store/retailer, they would purchase or attempt to purchase phones, tablets, smart watches, and accessories as an authorized user on an account. It was part of the scheme that Valenzuela continued to access a specific Verizon account for purchase financing until the maximum financing amount had been reached at which time, she would begin using a new fraudulently created Verizon account using another stolen identity. These purchases would then be financed through the Verizon account and the balance would be billed to the false account causing financial loss to Verizon.

Pursuant to this scheme, Verizon Wireless suffered a loss of more than $40,000 which can be attributed to Perdomo and Valenzuela’s conduct throughout Nebraska and Colorado. Further investigation has revealed that Perdomo had played a role in this same scheme in additional states including Washington as well.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.