Fort Bend County Con Man Gets 20 Years for Identity Theft

Richmond, TX -- A con man got 20 years for his part in an identity theft ring. Osdanay Gascon, 37 from Houston, was part of a group of more than 20 people who were creating fake credit cards.

Gascon had been in the phony credit card game since at least 2011 when he was busted in Arkansas with about 30 fake cards. He was given five years probation on that charge.

While on probation, Gascon decided to take his act on the road. He ran up bogus charges in stores in Louisiana and Texas. Gascon and the rest of his group came to attention of Houston-area law enforcement in early 2013.

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A task force made up of officers and agents from the Houston Police Department, Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, and United States Secret Service executed a search warrant on Gascon's house in March 2013.

When the cops busted Gascon they found wire transfer reciepts showing that Gascon was buying card numbers from the Ukraine. They also found more than 150 phony cards and the equipment to make more.

Gascon was arrested, indicted, posted $5,000 bail and fled the country. The trail went cold until Gascon came back to the U.S. on a fake passport.

Gascon set up shop in Colorado and started running a phony credit card scam. In January 2015, Gascon was arrested in Broomfield, CO with more than 40 fake credit cards.

He was extradited by to Texas to face trial for the charges here. He plead guilty in May 2016 and left his sentencing up to the judge.

At the sentencing hearing, the Fort Bend County District Attorney's office told the judge that Gascon's group was responsible for more than $300,000 in phony charges at one retailer alone.

Gascon testified that credit card fraud is a way of life for him. He told the judge that scamming is how he supports his six kids. Then, showing off his immense cojones, Gascon asked the judge for a lenient sentence because he committed the crimes thinking he'd only get probation.