FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
RICHARD R. LAUFER, III PLEADS GUILTY IN U.S. FEDERAL COURT
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Billings on March 12, 2008, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, RICHARD R. LAUFER, III, a 42-year-old resident of Billings, pled guilty to fraud and identity theft. Sentencing is set for June 18, 2008. He is currently detained on special conditions.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
During the morning of May 5, 2007, LAUFER called the Bank of America Visa card center to verify the account information on his father's business card twice. He verified the business phone and street address. When he was told that the account he was calling on was closed, he opened a new account.
Early in the morning on May 10, 2007, LAUFER called again from his cell phone.
Using the card number he had obtained by posing as his father, along with the card information of several other victims, LAUFER went on a spending spree in Billings, which included the following:
On May 11, 2007, LAUFER used his father's credit card number seven times at Montana Jack's in Billings for a total of $3,500, all cash advances;
Between May 6, 2007, and May 11, 2007, LAUFER used his father's credit card at other casinos for roughly an additional $2,000;
On April 30, 2007, LAUFER used credit cards belonging to female individuals five or six times for cash advances over $2,000 at Pug Mahon's in Billings;
Between May 22, 2007, and May 31, 2007, LAUFER used a male individual's credit card (at the time, this individual was serving in Iraq) 38 times for a total $8,230, mostly at casinos for cash advances;
Between May 19, 2007, and May 25, 2007, LAUFER used another male individuals's credit card 12 times for a total of $2,068 at hotels and casinos;
Between May 4, 2007, and May 21, 2007, LAUFER used a third female individual's credit card 14 times for a total of $2,823 at hotels, casinos and a gas station;
Sometime in May 2007, LAUFER used a third male individual's credit card numerous times for a total of $6,834;
Sometime in May 2007, LAUFER used a fourth male individual's credit card numerous times for a total of roughly $3,500; and
Sometime in May 2007, LAUFER used a fourth female individual's credit card numerous times for a total of over $1,000.
LAUFER was arrested on June 5, 2007. He was found with five Social Security cards, hand-written scripts related to posing as a credit card investigator, a stolen credit card, numerous credit card numbers with expiration dates, various hats and jackets that LAUFER was seen wearing on surveillance videos at establishments where he used stolen credit cards, and personal information on individuals he had stolen credit cards from. He was driving a Hummer3 that he had rented on his father's credit card.
Part of LAUFER'S scheme involved calling ahead and putting food and hotels on other people's card numbers. LAUFER would call people posing as a credit card fraud investigator to get their credit card numbers.
LAUFER faces possible penalties of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release for fraud. In addition, LAUFER faces an additional mandatory two year imprisonment, consecutive to any other sentence, for aggravated identity theft.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric B. Wolff prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service.
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A copy of the Offer of Proof can be obtained by contacting Sally Frank at (406) 247-4638.
