Miami Man Sentenced To More Than Four Years For Participating In $1.5 Million Apple Pay Fraud Conspiracy

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Daniel Butler (30, Miami) to 54 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Butler had pleaded guilty on May 16, 2019.

According to court documents, Butler and others fraudulently obtained access to at least 477 credit card accounts and linked those accounts to the Apple Pay app on their iPhones. Then, using their iPhones, Butler and his coconspirators made purchases using their victims’ credit card accounts without having to present actual credit cards to retailers. The group made more than $1.5 million in fraudulent purchases.

Butler’s sentencing follows the pleas of his three co-conspirators. In December 2018, Johnny Max Wesley (24, Miami) was sentenced to four years in federal prison. Rachel Bishop (27, Miami) and Laurent Pierre Louis (31, Miami) are scheduled to be sentenced in December 2019.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican.