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Date: 09-12-2023
Case Style:
Case Number: 2:22-cr-00036
Judge: Sheri Polster Chappell
Court: United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida (Lee County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States Attorney’s Office in Fort Myers
Defendant's Attorney: Ken Eulo and Kortney Daly
Description: Fort Myers, Florida criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
Carlos Tejeda, age 62, of Cape Coral, recruited several friends and associates, including Pedro Pelaez, age 59, of Cape Coral, to create shell companies, obtain credit card processing terminals for their shell companies, and then permit Carlos Tejeda to swipe counterfeit credit cards fraudulently encoded with stolen credit and debit card numbers using the shell company credit card terminals. Evidence showed that Juan Tejeda’s primary role was to encode the counterfeit cards for his father Carlos Tejeda, but that he personally swiped counterfeit cards on the shell company terminals as well. Each fraudulent transaction was typically between $1,000 and $3,000, but the same stolen card number was often used several times across multiple shell companies before victim cardholders from across the United States realized that their card numbers had been compromised.
After the stolen funds were deposited into the shell company bank accounts, the shell company owners would kickback a pre-determined percentage of the fraudulent proceeds to Carlos or Juan and keep the remainder for themselves. In total, nine shell companies were used to perpetrate the fraud, including those personally opened by Carlos and Juan Tejeda. Credit card transaction data presented to the jury showed that during the duration of the fraud, thousands of credit card charges totaling more than $2.6 million were attempted or conducted on the shell company terminals. In total, nine people have now been convicted and sentenced for their roles in this fraud, including the three above-named individuals.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Cape Coral Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon R. Eth.
ATTEMPT AND CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MAIL FRAUD
(1s)
FRAUD WITH IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS
(31s-41s)
MONEY LAUNDERING - FEDERAL STATUTES, OTHER
(42s)
PRODUCES/TRAFFICS IN COUNTERFEIT DEVICE
(43s-44s)
Outcome: months as to Counts 1-30, Count 42 and Count 44, and 120 months as to Count 43, such terms to run concurrently, and 24 months as to Counts 31-41, such terms shall run concurrently to each other and consecutive to all other counts (Counts 1-30, 42, 44, and Count 43); Supervised Release: 36 months. Such term consists of 36 months as to Counts 1-30, and 42-44, and 12 months as to Counts 31-41 and 36, such terms shall run concurrently to each other; Restitution in the amount of $51,304.00, joint and several with co-defendants; Special Assessment: $4,400.00; remand to the custody of the U.S. Marshal.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: