Washington Man Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Credit Card Fraud Scheme
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that ELIJAH CHIN, 28, of Federal Way, Washington, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for fraud and identity theft offenses stemming from a credit card fraud scheme.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between approximately December 2016 and February 2017, Chin was involved in a scheme in which credit card accounts were opened electronically using personal identifying information from Connecticut residents. After the credit card issuers mailed credit cards to the victims’ home addresses, Chin took the cards directly from the victims’ mailboxes. Chin then used the credit cards to purchase gift cards, prepaid cards and other items totaling $63,941.60 at various retail establishments in Connecticut.
Judge Shea ordered Chin to pay full restitution.
On April 30, 2018, Chin pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Chin, who is released on bond, was ordered to report to prison on December 28.
This investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Wilton Police Department and Ridgefield Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller.