The United States has sentenced a Cuban gang to prison for credit card skimming. Specifically, the leader and other members of the hacking gang allegedly stole $5 million during an attack on gas stations in the Eastern District of Virginia. According to court documents, the six conspirators installed devices at gas stations located in Northampton County. The devices recorded the credit and debit card, along with their PINs, of customers who used their cards at the pump to pay for gas.
In April and May 2018, the Cuban gang went to, among other places, Harris Teeter stores, and used stolen credit/debit card information to withdraw money from victims’ bank accounts . The illegally obtained financial data was also used to purchase prepaid gift cards.
The gang of Cubans, who reside in Florida, were sentenced on January 5 to a total of more than 28 years in prison. Four of them were convicted of identity theft, while all six were convicted of conspiracy to skim credit cards and commit bank fraud.
According to Infosecurity Magazine, several other conspirators involved in the attack remain at large and are believed to be living in Mexico.
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) said that many of the conspirators have significant criminal histories. For several years, the gang has carried out hacking attacks, resulting in total losses of more than $5 million to its victims
The gang leader, Yasmani Granja Quijada, used email account to make deals with the stolen data. The 33-year-old was found to be trading more than 9,800 stolen credit card numbers.
It is worth noting that Quijada received the longest prison sentence, 120 months. At the same time, the 29‑year‑old Luis Miguel Fernandez Cardente was sentenced to 64 months, the 31‑year‑old Jorge Bello Fuentes to 60 months and the 34‑year‑old Guillermo Bello Fuentes to 47 months. Also, the 40‑year‑old Pedro Emilio Duran received a sentence of 30 months and the 29‑year‑old Yariel Monsibaez Ruiz a sentence of 19 months.
The FBI and the US Marshals Service seized several vehicles and items purchased by the criminals with stolen money, including a 2006 Triton 2895CC boat and trailer, a 2017 Ford F250 Super Cab truck, a 2016 Cruise Radiance Travel Trailer RV, a 2017 Ford Escape SUV, a 2017 Maserati Ghibli and a 2013 Porsche Panamera.
