Lancaster man guilty in NC, ran up a $10,000 tab after stealing credit card number.
A Lancaster County man faces up to 15 years in prison after a federal jury convicted him of stealing a credit card number to buy sneakers and clothes, according to prosecutors from the U.S. Department of Justice, and court documents.
Robert Nathaniel Johnson III, 35, was found guilty Tuesday after a trial in Charlotte. He had been charged with access device fraud that carries up to 10 years in prison, and conspiracy to access device fraud that carries up to five years, according to federal prosecutors and court records.
Johnson, whose alias was “Booman” according to court documents, used a stolen credit card number in late 2018 to make counterfeit credit cards, prosecutors said. Johnson then bought more than $10,000 in merchandise at places in North Carolina such as Foot Locker, Foot Action, Best Buy, and other retailers.
The items were bought at North Carolina stores in Pineville, Charlotte, and Greensboro -- at stores in Carolina Place, across the South Carolina state line from of Fort Mill and Lancaster County, and Rivergate near Lake Wylie, federal court documents show.
A second suspect, Charles Vincent Brown, of Pineville, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to access device fraud in the plot, according to court documents.
Johnson and Brown are awaiting sentencing in federal court, documents show.
The scheme was uncovered by the U.S. Secret Service and the suspects were arrested in 2019, according to the indictments and court documents.
Federal documents did not identify the victim whose credit card was stolen.
According to the S.C. Department of Consumer Affairs, credit card fraud is the number one reported type of identity theft in South Carolina. Since July 2019, 168 consumers reported credit/debit card fraud with a total of more than $400,000 stolen, the consumer affairs department said.
In 2019, more than 167,000 people in the country reported a phony credit card was opened using stolen information, according to the Consumer Affairs Web site.
The Federal Trade Commission said on its Web site people can protect themselves from credit card fraud by keeping a record of account numbers, expiration dates and the phone number to report fraud for each company in a secure place.
The FTC also recommends not lending cards to anyone, and making sure documents and bills are properly stored or shredded.
The FTC advises consumers not to give your account number to anyone on the phone unless you have made the call to a company you know to be reputable. If you’ve never done business with them before, do an online search first for reviews or complaints. The federal agency recommends saving recipts and reporting any questionable charges immediately to the card issuer.
