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Man Sentenced For Stealing Credit Card Info Of CT Residents To Charge $64K In Purchases

A 28-year-old man who racked up almost 64,000 in charges on credit cards obtained through identity theft has been sentenced to two-and-half years in prison.

Elijah Chin

Elijah Chin

Photo Credit: Wilton Police Department

Elijah Chin of Federal Wave in the state of Washington was sentenced Tuesday 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, said John H. Durham, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between December 2016 and February 2017, Chin was involved in a scheme in which credit card accounts were opened electronically using personal identifying information from 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.

The Wilton Police Department arrested Chin on related state charges on Feb. 22, 2017. At the time of his arrest, Chin possessed numerous fraudulently issued credit cards, prepaid cards purchased with the credit cards, and mail addressed to area residents.

In addition to jail time, Chin was also ordered to pay full restitution.

On April 30, Chin pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

He is scheduled to report to prison on Dec. 28.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Wilton Police Department, and the Ridgefield Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller.

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