NEWARK, N.J. – A New York man was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for participating in a scheme to buy and sell over $2 million in stolen property, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
James Olla, 29, of Brooklyn, New York, previously pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to a superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to sell, receive or possess stolen goods. Judge Vazquez sentenced Olla today by videoconference.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From January 2014 through June 2015, Olla and others procured stolen information related to credit cards belonging to various individuals, including victims living in New Jersey. Using this stolen information, Olla and his conspirators obtained gift cards from various retailers and then sold the cards on the streets of Brooklyn and elsewhere, often for large sums of cash. In total, Olla’s scheme resulted in losses to financial institutions of $2,041,977.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Vazquez sentenced Olla to three years of supervised release, ordered him to forfeit certain property, and pay restitution of $689,124.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Rodney M. Hopkins in Newark; and the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Mark McKevitt, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Cybercrime Unit Chief David W. Feder and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua L. Haber of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.