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NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that two women, Keyira Gable, age 33, of Harvey and Brittany White, age 34, of New Orleans, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Barry W. Ashe for their participation in a years-long credit card fraud conspiracy.

The St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office worked on this federal case that involved Matherne’s Supermarket, among several other businesses. The SJSO Financial Crimes Division worked with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and several other law enforcement agencies in this investigation that led to the conviction of Keyira Gable.

Judge Ashe sentenced Gable to a total of 61 months in prison. She had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. Judge Ashe sentenced White to a total of 37 months in prison based on her previous guilty plea to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and possession of fifteen or more counterfeit or unauthorized access devices.

Gable And White were the second and third defendants to be sentenced in this seven-defendant conspiracy case. According to court documents, Gable, White and their co-conspirators engaged in a scheme to obtain merchandise and cash from stores through fraud. The defendants obtained stolen credit and debit card information, encoded it onto cards, and then used that information to purchase items at stores. The defendants would then return the items at a different store of the same chain, but they would deceive store workers in order to have the chargeback credited to their own bank accounts. Federal agents were able to determine that members of this conspiracy took flights around the country to execute the scheme, including Oregon, South Carolina, Illinois, Tennessee, Missouri and Florida.

U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the agencies that contributed to this conviction, which represents a coordinated effort of federal and state law enforcement authorities within the Louisiana Financial Crimes Task Force.

The Task Force includes representatives from the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, New Orleans Police Department, Covington Police Department, Hammond Police Department, Kenner Police Department, Louisiana State Police, Mandeville Police Department, Slidell Police Department, St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, St. John The Baptist Sheriff’s Office, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office, St. Tammany Parish District Attorney’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. State Department, Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration-Office of Inspector General and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

U.S. Attorney Strasser also thanked the Franklin (TN) Police Department, the Mobile Police Department, the Gulfport Police Department, the Minnetonka (MN) Police Department, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office and the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office for their assistance. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew R. Payne and K. Paige O’Hale are in charge of the prosecution.