Man pleads guilty in ID theft scheme that included buying Oklahoma State University sports tickets
A Canadian man has pleaded guilty in a wide-ranging identity theft and stolen credit card scheme that included buying Oklahoma State University sports tickets and toilet paper from an Oklahoma City supplier to resell for profit during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Robert Vinnik, 29, of Ontario, Canada, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City last week for his alleged part in the conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The scheme involved four co-conspirators from Canada.
Prosecutors said the group used alias email accounts and information from 52 stolen credit cards to buy more than 1,800 tickets to Oklahoma State University athletic events between November 2019 and January 2020.
More than $20,000 was spent on the tickets, court documents show. Some purchases required payments to the Oklahoma State University Foundation, prosecutors said.
The group was accused of buying more than $20,000 in tickets to a Billy Joel concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. They planned to buy 10 tickets to an Eagles concert, and also tried to buy suite tickets to Big East basketball tournament games, prosecutors said.
One defendant in the case was accused of using the WhatsApp messaging platform to steal credit card information from 32 people. He then recruited a woman to use the stolen information to buy tickets to an Ultimate Fighting Championship event.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the wire fraud ring targeted U.S.-based businesses selling goods that were scarce, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said the group used stolen credit card information to buy masks, gowns and nitrile gloves, then resold them to third parties.
They were accused of buying $18,000 worth of toilet paper from a paper supply company in Oklahoma City in March 2020.
Other defendants in the case who have been sentenced include Steven Mesrop, 32, who was ordered to serve 80 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Dijon Cornelius Shepard, 30, was sentenced to serve 20 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States.
Mirna Mahrous Habib, 27, was sentenced to serve four months in federal prison followed by one year of supervised release for conspiracy to commit wire fraud
Karin Treister, 27, was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $30,000 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Canadian ID theft ring used stolen information to buy OSU tickets
