CONCORD, N.H.– United States Attorney, Emily Gray Rice announced that Elvis Barban Chavez, 45, and Dairon Julio Jimenez Roja, 26, both of Texas, pleaded guilty to identity theft and conspiracy to commit credit card fraud. A third individual, Franciso Tamayo Noguera, is scheduled for trial in February.
According to documents that were filed in United States District Court and statements made during the change of plea hearings, Roja, Chavez, and Noguera traveled from Austin, Texas to New Hampshire in late December 2015 and early January 2016. Once they arrived in New Hampshire, they began purchasing gift cards at various retail stores in the area, including the Sam’s Club store in Hudson, New Hampshire. The group obtained the credit card information for various individuals, including numerous New Hampshire residents, by downloading the information from a skimmer that was hidden in a gas pump at a store in Londonderry, New Hampshire. After downloading the information, the group used it at the self-checkout counters at the retail stores to purchase gift cards in the amount of $200. The total estimated loss is greater than $15,000.
On January 12, 2016, the Hudson Police Department were notified that the group was in the store purchasing gift cards. The police responded to the store and pursued the group into Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, where they were arrested by the Tyngsborough Police. Numerous cards and a skimming device were found in the vehicle.
A sentencing hearing for Mr. Chavez is scheduled for May 7, 2017. sentencing hearing for Mr. Roja is scheduled for May 9, 2017. Both defendants have entered into plea agreements with the United States which, if accepted by the court, provide for a prison sentence of 24 months and one day.
The case was investigated by the Hudson Police Department, the Londonderry Police Department, the Manchester Police Department, the Tyngsborough Police Department and the New Hampshire State Police Forensic Laboratory. Numerous other departments and the staffs at various Sam’s Club stores assisted in the investigation.
The public is reminded that Mr. Noguera is presumed innocent of the charges listed in the indictment.
###