Essex County Man Sentenced for Selling Stolen, Counterfeit Credit Cards

A member of an identity theft and credit card fraud ring was sentenced to federal prison for selling stolen and counterfeit credit cards over the Internet, according to the United States Department of Justice.

Jermaine Smith, a.k.a. “SirCharlie57” and “Fairbusinessman”, 34, of East Orange, pleaded guilty in October 2014 to one count of participating in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization for his involvement in the fraud ring “Carder.su”, the Justice Department said. Smith was sentenced to 150 months in prison and ordered to pay $50.8 million in restitution.

“Criminal cyber organizations like Carder.su threaten not just U.S. citizens but people in every corner of the globe,” Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell said in a release from the Justice Department. “Managers in Russia seamlessly ran their criminal enterprise online using, among others, a counterfeit card vendor from New Jersey, with whom they communicated through screen name aliases. The success in this case was achieved through equally seamless cooperation with our foreign law enforcement partners and effective use of the RICO statute. As more countries work with us to fight these organizations, we will continue to evolve to meet this growing threat.”

Smith admitted to being involved with Carder.su and having operated as a vendor for the organization, using the “SirCharlie57” and “Fairbusinessman” nicknames. As a vendor, Smith sold counterfeit credit cards to an undercover agent, which were then processed for fingerprints, identifying Smith, the Justice Department said. Additionally, Smith admitted to having more than 2,150 stolen credit and debit card account numbers.

While on pre-trial release, Smith removed an electronic monitoring device and fled the United States for Jamaica. He was captured four months later and returned to Nevada, the Justice Department said.

Fifty-six people were charged in four separate indictments in “Operation Open Market”, which targeted Carder.su. As of April 9, 26 people have been convicted and the rest are either fugitives or are pending trial.