Northampton County credit card skimming crew sentenced to prison time

Six Cuban nationals have been sentenced for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft in a case involving skimming devices placed n gas pumps located in Northampton County.

The skimming devices were capable of recording the credit and debit card numbers, along with their PINs, of the customers that used their cards at the gas pumps.

In April-May 2018, using the stolen card information, the defendants traveled between Harris Teeter store locations, among other destinations, to withdraw money from the victims’ bank accounts and purchase prepaid gift cards.

In addition, many of the conspirators had significant criminal histories involving the same conduct and were known to travel the country perpetrating this scheme.

The leader of the crew, Yasmani Granja Quijada, was found to be trading more than 9,800 additional stolen credit card numbers using his email account over the past few years.

The crew was attributed with aggregate losses of over $5 million several years.

The FBI and U.S. Marshals Service seized numerous vehicles and other items that were purchased by the defendants with funds stolen through credit cards, 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.

Several other conspirators remain at large and are believed to be living in Mexico.