Long Island Man Gets More Than Five Years In Prison For Role In Intl $200 Million Credit Card Fraud

[nitpicker]

https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/long-island-man-gets-more-five-years-prison-role-international-200-million-credit-card

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of New Jersey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Long Island Man Gets More Than Five Years In Prison For Role In International $200 Million Credit Card Fraud Conspiracy

TRENTON, N.J. – A Hicksville, New York, man was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for his role in one of the largest credit card fraud schemes ever charged by the Justice Department, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Ijaz Butt, 57, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson to Count One of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Judge Thompson imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.

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

Butt was originally charged in February 2013 as part of a conspiracy to fabricate more than 7,000 false identities to obtain tens of thousands of credit cards. Since then, 19 people, including Butt, have pleaded guilty in connection with the scheme.

The scheme involved a three-step process in which the defendants would make up a false identity by creating fraudulent identification documents and a phony credit profile with the major credit bureaus; pump up the credit of the false identity by providing bogus information about that identity’s creditworthiness; then borrowed or spent as much as they could without repaying the debts – causing more than $200 million in confirmed losses to businesses and financial institutions.
(snip)

[Sherman A1]

1. I don't think it's near enough

he should also be required to make complete restitution.

[GWC58]

2. 20 years, as a minimum!