NEW JERSEY – Two Essex County men were arrested last week for their roles in a fraudulent debit card scheme, according to acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig.
Alateef Perry, 43, of Newark, and Rajohn Dawkins, 25, of Irvington are charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud, Honig said.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, from July 2019 through March 2020, Perry and Dawkins fraudulently used debit cards in the names of other individuals, without the cardholders’ consent or knowledge, to purchase diesel fuel for commercial truck drivers in exchange for cash. Perry and Dawkins met commercial truck drivers at multiple gas stations in New Jersey, including gas stations located in Hanover Township in Morris County and Middlesex Borough in Middlesex County. Perry and Dawkins used the unauthorized debit cards to fill the drivers’ commercial trucks with diesel fuel. The truck drivers then typically paid Perry and Dawkins a fraction of the fuel’s purchase price in cash, which Perry and Dawkins pocketed. Perry and Dawkins used over 500 unauthorized debit cards and ultimately stole over $220,000.
The charge of conspiracy to commit access device fraud carries a maximum potential sentence of five years in prison and a maximum potential fine of $250,000, or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater, Honig said.
