US scammer bought, resold nearly 27,000 credit card numbers

9/01/2010 03:50:16 PM

WASHINGTON – A US man pleaded guilty Wednesday to fraudulently obtaining nearly 27,000 credit card numbers and selling them on to other scammers, who used them to make purchases.

Juan Javier Cardenas, 45, admitted at a plea hearing in a district court in Florida that he had "purchased stolen credit card information from a co-conspirator" using the Internet, a statement from the US Department of Justice said.

Cardenas then used the Internet to resell the credit card information to third parties who made fraudulent credit card purchases.

When US Secret Service agents searched Cardenas's house last year, they found 26,669 credit card numbers stored on his computer, the statement said.

Cardenas faces up to five years in jail for conspiracy and up to 10 years for trafficking in unauthorized credit card numbers.

He could also be fined and be forced to forfeit any property he obtained or money he earned through his criminal activities.