Bahamian Man Sentenced To Five Years In Prison For More Than $1.2 Million Credit Card Fraud Scheme

 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced that KEVIN DION ROLLE, Jr. was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan to 60 months in prison for his role in a $1.2 million credit card scheme.  ROLLE, Jr. pled guilty before Judge Nathan on August 5, 2021, to one count of wire fraud.

According to the allegations in the Complaint, the Indictment, and other documents filed in federal court, as well as statements made in public court proceedings:

From October 2015 to September 2020, ROLLE participated in what is known by various credit card companies as a “bust-out” scheme whereby the credit card user applies for a credit card and incurs numerous charges with no intention of paying the balance.  As part of his multi-year fraud scheme, ROLLE submitted multiple credit card applications to American Express (“Amex”), which often included or were supported by documentation containing false identifying information.  Once ROLLE received a credit card, he used the credit card for a short period of time to purchase luxury items, including, among other things, Cartier jewelry and a Bentley. 

In total, ROLLE incurred $1,205,318.18 in Amex credit card charges that remain outstanding and collected an $209,500 in insurance proceeds based on a claim for jewelry pieces purchased with the fraudulent Amex credit cards. 

On the basis of multiple Court filings, ROLLE admitted in the terms of his plea agreement to obstructing justice.  ROLLE made numerous self-serving, false, and/or inconsistent statements to the Court and the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico where he was first arrested regarding his personal background, possession of foreign passports, and his purported ties to New York.  At the time of his arrest, ROLLE presented an Irish passport, which was later found to have been obtained with a fake United States passport.  Additionally, ROLLE purported to be the president of a particular college in The Bahamas—the existence of which was unable to be verified by the FBI.

In addition to the prison term, ROLLE, 27, of The Bahamas, was ordered to make restitution in the amount of $1,414,818.18 and forfeiture in the amount of $1,504,818.18.   

Mr. Williams thanked the FBI Foreign Influence Task Force for their outstanding work.