Former U.S. Navy Sailor Pleads Guilty to Credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft

FRESNO, Calif. — Jarrod M. Langford, 26, of Orlando, Florida, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to conspiracy to commit credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Langford, while serving with the United States Navy in Lemoore, California, conspired with others to fraudulently acquire and use credit card account numbers to purchase and resell over the internet voucher codes that were redeemable for consumer items such as wristwatches, jewelry, computer software applications and electronic devices. Langford used various methods to fraudulently acquire other peoples’ credit card information, including purchasing the information over the internet. In September 2012, Langford fraudulently possessed more than 2,500 records of credit card account numbers and the associated account holders’ personal identifying information, such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses.

To hide his actual location and conceal his involvement in his fraudulent activities, Langford installed an application on his computers that would establish a virtual private network (VPN) in order to conduct anonymous encrypted internet sessions and give the appearance that he was located outside of California. In his plea agreement, Langford admitted to fraudulently purchasing approximately $340,000 of consumer products and unauthorized voucher codes redeemable for such items.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher D. Baker is prosecuting the case.

Langford is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on September 9, 2018. Langford faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy charge, an additional two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft charge, and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.