Ohio Man Sentenced for Buying Jewelry with Stolen Credit Cards
A Cleveland man was sentenced to probation for purchasing jewelry with stolen credit card information purchased on the darkweb.
U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi sentenced Jaelen D. Lattimore, 23, to three years probation for purchasing $20,000 worth of jewelry from two Jewelry stores in Aurora, Ohio. In March, Lattimore pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud. He admitted to conspiring with Hasan J. Howard Jr., 23, to purchase jewelry using stolen credit card information.
According to information revealed in court, Howard and Lattimore bought stolen credit and bank card information on the darkweb. Specifically, investigators learned that the conspirators purchased the stolen information on “Joker’s Stash,” one of the most successful markets for buying and selling stolen data.
A tweet from one of Lattimore's co-conspirators.
From the criminal complaint:
“On or about May 19, 2021, HASAN and LATTIMORE were arrested after conducting thefts at Kay and Zales Jewelers in Aurora, Ohio, for purchases exceeding $20,000. At the time of their arrest, HOWARD and LATTIMORE had a credit card embossing machine, three Rolex watches, and a .38 caliber pistol.”
In most cases, the defendants purchased jewelry from jewelry stores over the phone or online.
The criminal complaint provides numerous examples, including the following incidents from May 2021:
“On or about May 10, 2021, a fraudulent transaction was reported at Jared Jewelers, 16760 Royalton Road, Strongsville, Ohio, for a diamond earring, using a fraudulent credit card ending in 5437, for a loss of $8,261. The order was placed over the phone using XXX-XXX-9656 under the name ALEXANDER JOHNSON believed to be HOWARD. Later that same day, another purchase was attempted using the same credit card for $9,179 but was declined.
“On May 11, 2021, a fraudulent transaction was reported at Jared Jewelers, 16760 Royalton Road, Strongsville, Ohio, for two diamond bracelets, using fraudulent credit card ending in 0192, for a total loss of $18,359. The order was placed over the phone using XXXXXX-9656 under the name ALEXANDER JOHNSON believed to be HOWARD. On the same
date, 17 minutes later, an attempted purchase using XXX-XXX-9656, under ALEXANDER JOHNSON was placed using the same credit card but was declined for the attempted $17,279.99.”
Prosecutors say the defendants used stolen payment information to purchase jewelry from 30 jewelry stores in Ohio. On Howard’s publicly viewable Instagram account, investigators found pictures of jewelry and electronics stolen from businesses in Ohio.
“On or about December 28, 2020, a fraudulent transaction was reported at Big Sandy Superstore, Reynoldsburg, Ohio, using a fraudulent credit card ending in 3922 to purchase an 8K television for $5,159. No video surveillance was available at the pickup location of the television. The name used on the invoice was ADRIAN BERRY. It was later discovered during the search warrant for Instagram account belonging to HOWARD, that HOWARD posted pictures of the fraudulently purchased television on or about December 28, 2020 with quote “8K tv for ps5 ya know”. This same television was discovered at HOWARD’s residence during the execution of a search warrant on May 20, 2021.”
Howard often sold solen jewelry through Instagram and paid his co-conspirators with the proceeds of the sales.
Judge Lioi sentenced Hasan Howard, 23, of Cleveland, Ohio, to more than six years in prison for various fraud charges. In March 2022, Howard pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft. The judge also ordered Howard to pay $261,319.28 in restitution.
Other co-conspirators are awaiting sentencing.
Criminal Complaint pdf
Judgement pdf