A former Chula Vista man has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for stealing gold and silver from a Chula Vista coin shop and other businesses with counterfeit credit cards.
Danny Stephen Wray, 29, was ordered to pay $76,489 back to businesses by U.S. District Court Judge John Houston in San Diego in June.
Wray was the leader of a credit card fraud ring and he installed a credit card skimmer at a La Jolla service station which read the customer names, account numbers, and personal identification numbers from credit and debit cards.
Wray and another man used a counterfeit access device at the Coin & Stamps store in Chula Vista to purchase $5,813.86 worth of gold and silver, according to court records. Wray used cards belonging to someone else, who reported to his bank that his credit card had been hacked.
Other victims were Costco, Smart & Final grocery store, and a federal credit union. Court records say the group used counterfeit credit cards to buy 35 Apple iPads, 11 bottles of Dom Perigean, a 65-inch Samsung television, two luxury wristwatches, multiple Xbox and PS4 video game systems. They also purchases large quantities of Red Bull and liquor.
Wray is a 2006 graduate of Hilltop High School in Chula Vista. He was arrested in Arizona in Nov., 2017, and extradited here. A judge deemed him a serious flight risk and he was in the Metropolitan Correctional Center without bail.
Wray pleaded guilty to conspiracy to using an unauthorized device that affected interstate commerce and he could have been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. His attorney argued his use of methamphetamine affected his judgement and recommended a lesser sentence.
Wray sold the merchandise he collected from the unauthorized credit cards. He has a prior record of possession of 269 counterfeit credit cards in 2015 and use of stolen credit cards in 2013.
“To anyone who considers credit card fraud a quick and easy payday: this office will investigate and prosecute you, and you will feel the consequences,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman.
A co-defendant, Abilene Velazquez-Sedano, 29, formerly of Chula Vista, was sentenced to 71 days in jail and she was ordered released. She was ordered to pay $2,231 in restitution to Costco. She pleaded guilty to using a counterfeit access device.
Chantal Jovanna Twight, 27, will be sentenced July 9. She remains free on $5,000 bond. Twight pleaded guilty to conspiracy to use an unauthorized device. Twight faces a maximum 5-year prison term.
A fourth co-defendant, Jean Louis Contreras, age unknown, remains a fugitive and a warrant for his arrest has been issued.
