Crime & Safety

Ex-City Waitress Sentenced in Skimming Scheme

Chibuzo Okafor, 26, of Rosedale, N.Y., was accused of stealing credit card information from customers while working at a restaurant in Stamford.

A former waitress at a Stamford restaurant was sentenced Tuesday in a Bridgeport court to two months of imprisonment and four months of home confinement for her role in a credit card fraud scheme, according to statement released by U.S. District Attorney David B. Fein.

Chibuzo Okafor, 26, of Rosedale, N.Y., using a "skimming" device between September 2008 and January 2009 along with her co-worker Natasha Smith, according court documents. Okafor and Smith would then meet with the contact that supplied the device to turn over the stored credit card information. Okafor and Smith were paid either $20 or $25 for each credit card they successfully swiped through the skimming device and then given new devices to obtain new credit card numbers. The stolen information was later used by the contact to make unauthorized purchases.

According to Fein's statement, approximately 92 credit cards were compromised, which resulted in losses of approximately $135,888. The investigation also uncovered an additional $145,435 in losses due to a conspiracy Okafor was involved in at a New York restaurant.

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Okafor pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud in March 2010 has been ordered to pay $281,323 in restitution. Smith pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to three years of probation with the first four months to be served in home confinement. She was ordered to pay $135,888 in restitution.

The investigation was conducted by the Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force, which includes members of Connecticut State Police and the , , , New Haven, Glastonbury and Hartford police departments.

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