DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Ringleader Of Tampa Credit Card Fraud And Identity Theft Ring Sentenced To More Than 16 Years In Prison

Posted on November 8, 2016 by Dissent

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge James S. Moody, Jr. today sentenced Michel Lermos-Hernandez (40, Tampa) to 16 years and 7 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. The Court also ordered him to pay $714,383.51 in restitution to his victims. Lermos-Hernandez pleaded guilty on March 2, 2016.

According to court documents, Lermos-Hernandez ran a credit card fraud ring in which conspirators obtained credit card numbers by placing key loggers on credit card terminals that intercepted and stored swiped credit and debit account information at the International Mall in Tampa, including one at the Haagen-Dazs ice cream store. Lermos-Hernandez and others then created counterfeit credit cards using the stolen account numbers. Lermos-Hernandez obtained blank credit card stock, embossing machines, and magnetic stripe re-encoders from his co-defendant, Viviana Reyes. He also sold stolen account numbers to Reyes and others.

After making the counterfeit cards, Lermos-Hernandez provided them to his co-conspirators, including his sister, Norma Cabezas-Hernandez, his girlfriend, Danay-Crespo Rodriguez, and at least two other individuals, including Lazaro Rodriguez and Abel Osorio-Cuok, who used the cards to purchase electronics and gift cards at Tampa area retailers. The conspirators then took these items to Reyes, who paid them in cash for the fraudulently obtained merchandise. Reyes then sold the items at a discounted price.

On February 7, 2013, a search warrant was executed at Lermos-Hernandez’s residence. Agents recovered $14,515 in cash, a laptop computer, a credit card embosser, a magnet stripe reader/encoder, a key logger, and multiple counterfeit credit cards and re-encoded gift cards. Also pursuant to his arrest, agents seized a Mercedes-Benz sedan that Lermos-Hernandez had purchased for over $130,000.

The total actual loss identified to date is more than $700,000 and the scheme victimized more than 35 federally insured financial institutions, and over 1,000 individuals, whose account information was compromised.

Reyes was convicted at trial and was later sentenced to 12 years in prison. Crespo-Rodriguez pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Cabezas-Hernandez pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison.  Lazaro Rodriguez was sentenced to 37 months’ incarceration. Osoria-Cuok, who was only involved in the conspiracy for approximately three weeks, was sentenced to a term of five years’ probation.

This case was investigated by the Tampa Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), all of which are members of the USSS’s Credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft Task Force. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mandy Riedel and Suzanne Nebesky.

SOURCE: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida

Related posts:

  • IRS’s Top 10 Identity Theft Prosecutions
  • IRS’s Top Ten Identity Theft Prosecutions
  • Tampa Man Sentenced To Seven Years For Credit Card Fraud And Identity Theft
  • U.K. Citizen Extradited and Pleads Guilty to Cyber Crime Offenses
Category: Business SectorID TheftMalware

Post navigation

← Alaskan Elections Results Site Hacked By CyberZeist
Update: Tesco Bank refunds £2.5 million to customers after weekend’s security breach →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • National Health Care Fraud Takedown Results in 324 Defendants Charged in Connection with Over $14.6 Billion in Alleged Fraud
  • Swiss Health Foundation Radix Hit by Cyberattack Affecting Federal Data
  • Russian hackers get 7 and 5 years in prison for large-scale cyber attacks with ransomware, over 60 million euros in bitcoins seized
  • Bolton Walk-In Clinic patient data leak locked down (finally!)
  • 50 Customers of French Bank Hit by Insider SIM Swap Scam
  • Ontario health agency atHome ordered to inform 200,000 patients of March data breach
  • Fact-Checking Claims By Cybernews: The 16 Billion Record Data Breach That Wasn’t
  • Horizon Healthcare RCM discloses ransomware attack in December
  • Disgruntled IT Worker Jailed for Cyber Attack, Huddersfield
  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • The Trump administration is building a national citizenship data system
  • Supreme Court Decision on Age Verification Tramples Free Speech and Undermines Privacy
  • New Jersey Issues Draft Privacy Regulations: The New
  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
  • Germany Wants Apple, Google to Remove DeepSeek From Their App Stores
  • Supreme Court upholds Texas law requiring age verification on porn sites
  • Justices nix Medicaid ‘right’ to choose doctor, defunding Planned Parenthood in South Carolina

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.