HARRISBURG — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle), published as received.
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Carol Watts, age 44, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, pleaded guilty today before United States District Court Judge John E. Jones, III, to conspiring to use stolen credit cards.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Watts conspired with others to use stolen credit cards to purchase electronic merchandise and gift cards from stores in central Pennsylvania, such as Target and Best Buy. The co-conspirators engaged in this conduct for approximately eight months from 2014 to 2015. Miller and her co-conspirators travelled from Florida to Pennsylvania breaking into cars to steal credit cards and identification documents in order to buy iPads, iPods, MacBooks and other electronic merchandise and gift cards. The total loss as a result of the scheme is estimated to be $179,500.
The case was investigated by the Harrisburg Resident Office of the United States Secret Service, the Lower Paxton Township Police Department, and numerous other law enforcement agencies. Assistant United States Attorney William A. Behe is prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is five years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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