Tampa Man Sentenced To Over Three Years In Prison For Fraudulently Using Federal GSA Smartpay Account Numbers

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge John Antoon II has sentenced Darius Lopez (27, Tampa) to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. The court also ordered the forfeiture of $27,008.50, which represents the proceeds Lopez obtained from the fraud. Lopez had pleaded guilty on September 1, 2022.

According to court records, on April 13, 2021, Lopez purchased more than $27,0000 in landscaping equipment from a tractor dealer in Citrus County. During the transactions, Lopez used the unauthorized account numbers of four Department of Agriculture General Services Administration (GSA) Smartpay charge cards. The account numbers were fraudulently embossed on prepaid debit cards. GSA SmartPay provides services to more than 560 federal agencies, organizations, and Native American tribal governments and enables authorized government employees to make purchases on behalf of the federal government in support of their agency or organization’s mission.

This case was investigated by the U.S. General Services Administration - Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the following agencies and financial institutions: U.S. General Services Administration - Office of Inspector General’s Southeast and Caribbean Regional Investigations Office, U.S. Department of Agriculture - Office of Inspector General, Southeast Region, Amtrak - Office of Inspector General, Central Region, U.S. Secret Service Orlando Cyber Fraud Task Force, Citrus County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Bank, Synchrony Bank Special Investigations Team, and Morgan Stanley Corporate Security. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Hannah Nowalk and Tyrie K. Boyer.