Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore today sentenced Kevin Wain (41, Tampa) to four years in federal prison for credit card fraud. The Court also ordered him to pay $585,028.99 to the approximately 48 affected financial institutions. Wain pleaded guilty on October 29, 2015.
According to court documents, from at least September 20, 2012, through and including the date of his arrest in June 2015, Wain engaged in a multi-state scheme to use counterfeit credit cards to buy high-end housewares, which he then sold on eBay for cash. Wain used stolen credit cards from numerous financial institutions, without the account holders’ knowledge or permission.
The investigation revealed that Wain had eBay and PayPal accounts listed in his name and address. Profits from the sales in these accounts were deposited into bank accounts in Wain’s own name. Since opening his account in May 2010, Wain has received approximately $881,143 in payments for selling items online.
The eBay records showed that on or about September 20, 2011, Wain purchased a MSR605 Magnetic Credit Card Reader/Writer, which can read and write magnetic striped cards and is typically used to encode and re-encode credit and debit card numbers onto counterfeit credit and debit cards.
Wain’s eBay sales transactions also showed the following:
a. From September 20, 2012, to February 15, 2015, he sold approximately 755 Vitamix blenders in various models for a total profit of $399,713.08;
b. From March 12, 2013, to February 18, 2015, he sold approximately 197 Roomba Robot vacuums in various models for a total profit of $91,141.25; and
c. From April 13, 2013, to June 1, 2013, he sold approximately 9 Dyson DC41 Animal vacuums for a total profit of $3,456.99.
Wain engaged in this credit card fraud scheme primarily near his home in the Tampa area, but also as far away as Texas and Illinois, primarily using stolen credit and debit card numbers to make purchases at Williams Sonoma. To date, investigators have identified more than $585,000 in purchases by Wain at Williams Sonoma and Bed Bath and Beyond alone, using counterfeit credit cards embedded with the stolen account information of over 125 identity theft victims.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mandy Riedel.