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Date: 08-17-2023
Case Style:
Case Number: 2:19-cr-00129
Judge: Daniel J. Calabretta
Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of California (Sacramento County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States Attorney’s Office in Sacramento
Defendant's Attorney: Candice Fields
Description: Sacramento, California criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Between July 2017 and September 2019, Sabrina Raylene Toilolo, 26, of Corning, Johnathon Ward, Monica Nunes, and Talalima Toilolo conspired to defraud financial institutions by exploiting the merchant refund process used by businesses and retail establishments to refund customers for returns, reimbursements, and erroneous charges. In total, the conspirators attempted $3.8 million in fraudulent transactions.
The defendants committed this scheme by stealing or purchasing point-of-sale (POS) terminals used by businesses to process bankcard transactions. The defendants programmed each terminal to make it appear as if it was authorized by a particular retail merchant, connected the terminals to payment processing intermediaries, and executed refund transactions even though no purchases had been made. The payment processors, falsely believing the terminals were authorized, approved the refunds and caused the merchants’ payment processors to transfer funds to the defendants’ fraudulent accounts. The defendants then drained the stolen funds from the accounts and distributed them among members of the conspiracy.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Regional Enforcement Allied Computer Team (REACT) Task Force, which includes investigators from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Delaney is prosecuting the case.
On April 2, 2021, Nunes was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison. On Feb. 11, 2021, Talalima Toilolo was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Ward has pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 9, 2023.
Outcome: IMPRISONMENT: 86 months; TSR: 36 months; S/A: $100.00, due immediately; FINE: waived; RESTITUTION: $1,106,679.86; RECOMMENDATION: FCI-Dublin, 500-Hour Bureau of Prisons Substance Abuse Treatment Program, Mental Health Treatment
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