This week, it was announced that a man from Houston, Texas had pleaded guilty to access device fraud. 31-year-old Froilan Tressord Bonilla now faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Customs and Border Protection officers encountered Bonilla at the Peace Bridge Port of Entry in Buffalo on April 10, 2017. The defendant had been refused entry into Canada by the Canadian Border Services Agency.
Bonilla’s vehicle was searched. 65 cards were found. They included gift cards, debit and credit cards. Officers also discovered a laptop computer and a card-encoding device. After a closer examination, the officers concluded that 28 of the cards were counterfeit. The magnetic strips were re-encoded with new information that was inconsistent with the number, name, merchant or institution listed on the front.
A search of Bonilla’s phone number revealed lists of credit card numbers, screenshots of online shopping carts for purchasing credit card numbers, and photographs of credit and gift cards. Evidence of money transfers to Vietnam, China and Ukraine was also found. Bonilla is now scheduled to be sentenced on April 12, 2018.
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