Bronx, New York Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud

United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Gregory Lorenzo, 32, of Bronx, New York, was sentenced on March 8, 2024, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Lorenzo to 60 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Lorenzo’s release from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release. Additionally, Lorenzo is ordered to pay $528,002.33 in restitution.

This case began in 2017 when Lorenzo, along with others, conspired and agreed together to enact a scheme to defraud Verizon Wireless. Members of the conspiracy did so by acquiring stolen identities of real United States citizens including at least three individuals from Nebraska. The conspiracy members would use the victims’ information to create Verizon accounts. Once accounts were created, they would purchase cellphones and accessories that would be billed to the accounts, causing financial loss to Verizon and potential credit damage to the individual whose identity was used. Once purchased, the phones would be shipped back to New York or New Jersey where they would be sold on the black market.

Different members of the conspiracy played different roles. For his part, Lorenzo would go to FedEx and retrieve packages of fraudulently purchased cellphones and electronic devices. would additionally send money to the “authorized user” members of the conspiracy when they were travelling to make fraudulent purchases. In January of 2019, Lorenzo travelled to the state of Washington where he went to Verizon stores to assist in the purchase of devices on fraudulently created accounts.

The conspiracy continued for years and Verizon Wireless suffered a loss of over $528,002.33. In February of 2019, two of the conspirators were arrested after attempting to purchase cellphones using the stolen identity of a Nebraska resident in Kearney, Nebraska thus beginning the investigation of this matter. Since the investigation began, Lorenzo and seven others have all been charged and convicted for their individual role within the conspiracy. Lorenzo is the last conspiracy member to be sentenced.

This case was investigated by Kearney Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.