POCATELLO MAN ADMITS FRAUD

A Pocatello man entered a guilty plea in federal court last week to a charge of credit card fraud. A second charge of identification document fraud was dismissed.

Sentencing was set for July 7, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

Ha Ma, also known as Eric Ma, 41, admitted that he had been invited to live with a Pocatello couple and had access to their mail and financial documents. Applying for credit in their names, Ma got a Bank of Idaho credit card, on which he charged approximately $15,000; convenience checks tied to various credit cards which he used to obtain cash in the approximate amount of $10,000 from various Pocatello banks; and a U.S. Bank credit card on which he charged about $60.

The charges occurred between September 1, 2007 and December 13, 2007. Ma was arrested at the Main Street Post Office in Pocatello on December 13 after he received a fraudulently obtained credit card in the mail.

Ma faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.