Federal Criminal Defense Blog : Georgia Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer & Attorney : Gillen Withers & Lake Law Firm : White Collar Crime, RICO, Trial : Atlanta, Savannah, GA

Federal investigators are investigating an outbreak of debit card fraud in Northwest Georgia, according to a story by WCRtv in Chattanooga. Customers of the Bank of LaFayette, Cohutta Banking Company, and Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union in Chickamauga, LaFayette, Rossville and Trion in Northwest Georgia have reported having their accounts drained.

Authorities believe that the thefts may be connected and may be the result of the theft of information from the company which handles the debit card transactions. The affected banks and credit unions have issued statements regarding the thefts.

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According to PCMag.com, Rogelio Hackett, Jr., a Georgia resident, has entered guilty pleas in Federal court in Virginia to a nine-year scheme involving more than 675,000 stolen credit card numbers and more than $36 million in fraudulent charges. The 26 year-old Hackett also allegedly sold the credit card information to others. He will be sentenced in July and faces a maximum of 12 years imprisonment.

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On Friday, Max Ray Butler, also known as the "Iceman" on the internet and by various other aliases, was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, according to a Department of Justice press release. The Court also ordered Butler to pay $27.5 million in restitution.

Butler was charged with engaging in computer hacking and identity theft on a massive scale, including hacking into financial institutions and credit card processing centers to steal customers' information. Butler would provide the victims' financial information to an accomplice, Christopher Aragon, who would use the information to purchase merchandise, or would sell information on the internet. Butler nd Aragon also created a website called "Cardersmarket," to acquire, use and sell credit card information Butler and Aragon recruited approximately 4,500 people through the site.

The Secret Service arrested in San Francisco Butler back on September 5, 2007 in San Francisco. A search of his computer revealed more than 1.8 million stolen credit card account numbers. Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover have reported that the amount of fraudulent charges on the cards totaled approximately $86.4 million.

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We have discussed former Georgia Tech worker Donna Gamble, who charged more than $316,000 on a state credit card. Today, as reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia sentenced Gamble to 2.6 years imprisonment. The sentencing judge, United States District Judge Jack T. Camp characterized as "frivolous" Gamble's purchases on a card issued pursuant to the State's p-card program, which included waverunners, popcorn machines and Auburn University football tickets. In all, Gamble purchased a total of 3,800 items in 2,000 purchases, many made from her computer at the University. Gamble said nothing during the hearing and presented no witnesses on her behalf.

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