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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni announced
that a Union County man and his nephew have
pleaded guilty for using fraudulent credit
cards and false identifications to steal gasoline.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Luis F. Marte, 36, whose last known
address was in Union Township, pleaded guilty
on Friday (April 24) before Superior Court
Judge Joseph P. Donahue in Union County to
an accusation charging him with trafficking
in personal identifying information of another
and identity theft, both third-degree offenses.
Marte’s nephew, Carlos DeJesus, 21,
whose last known address was in Elizabeth,
pleaded guilty today before Judge Donahue
to third-degree trafficking in personal identifying
information of another.
Marte
admitted that between Aug. 12 and Oct. 24,
2008, he possessed at least five credit cards
that contained account numbers embedded on
the magnetic strip on the back of the cards
that had been digitally altered so that they
did not match the embossment on the face of
the cards. The altered magnetic strips contained
personal identifying information stolen from
five individuals. Marte admitted that he intended
to make purchases with the cards, and the
accounts of innocent victims would be billed
without their knowledge or authorization.
Marte was arrested on Aug. 12, 2008, after
using one of the unauthorized credit cards
to buy more than $600 worth of gas.
DeJesus
admitted that on Aug. 12, 2008, while accompanying
Marte to buy the gas, he possessed six fraudulent
credit cards that contained personal identifying
information stolen from six other victims.
He further admitted that he planned to use
the cards to make unauthorized purchases.
An
ongoing investigation has revealed that employees
at two gas stations in Union County obtained
credit card information of victims and shared
it with accomplices of Marte and DeJesus.
Marte
was previously prosecuted in 2007 by the Office
of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor for being in
possession of a stolen car. He was sentenced
to 180 days in county jail as a condition
of probation and was ordered to make restitution.
On
Oct. 24, 2008, a search warrant was executed
at Marte’s house, a trailer that Marte
had begun using as his driver’s license
address, and the two Delta gas stations. More
than $20,000 in cash was seized from Marte’s
house.
Detective
Jarek Pyrzanowski and Deputy Attorney General
John J. Higgins were assigned to the investigation.
Higgins represented the Office of Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor at the guilty plea hearing.
Judge
Donahue schedule sentencing for both defendants
for June 19. The state will recommend a sentence
of four years in state prison for Marte and
a probationary sentence for DeJesus.
“Identity theft continues to be a significant
law enforcement issue,” Prosecutor Brown
said. “Use of fraudulent identities
enables persons to steal both money and property.
OIFP will continue to investigate and prosecute
these crimes.”
The
Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor was established
by the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction
Act of 1998. The office is the centralized
state agency that investigates and prosecutes
both civil and criminal insurance fraud, as
well as Medicaid fraud.
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