Second man sentenced in Amtrak-OIG investigated credit card fraud case

For Immediate Release

March 23, 2023

OCALA, Fla. – A second man was sentenced to prison on February 17, 2023, and ordered to forfeit more than $40,000 after an Amtrak Office of Inspector General investigation revealed he used fraudulent credit cards and fraudulent identification cards to purchase jewelry and cell phones.

Tyler Deandre Johnson, 27, of Tampa, was sentenced to three years and eight months in federal prison for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. The court also ordered the forfeiture of $40,039.67, which represents the proceeds Johnson obtained from these offenses. The federal sentence is to run consecutively to a three-year state prison sentence Johnson is currently serving on four Hillsborough County state cases. In those cases, Johnson was convicted of three counts of fleeing to elude, two counts of armed possession of a controlled substance, and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. Johnson pleaded guilty to the federal charges on November 15, 2022.

According to court records, between March 16 and June 15, 2021, Johnson used counterfeited Green Dot VISA debit cards and PayPal credit cards, along with fraudulent ID cards, to purchase a total of $40,039.67 worth of merchandise. Another Tampa man, Darius Lopez, was also identified during the investigation for a similar fraud scheme and was previously sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $27,000. When Lopez was arrested, a cloned Amtrak General Services Administration SmartPay Card worth $5,000 was recovered.

Agents and personnel from the Amtrak Office of Inspector General; General Services Administration OIG; U.S. Department of Agriculture OIG; U.S. Secret Service Cyber Fraud Task Force; Citrus County Sheriff's Office; Davie Police Department; Lee County Sheriff’s Office; Cape Coral Police Department; Belleview Police Department; Sarasota Police Department; Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office; and the U.S. Bank; Synchrony Bank Special Investigations Team conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk prosecuted the case.

Reports of fraud, waste, or abuse; criminal or unethical acts affecting Amtrak’s property or operations; or mismanagement in Amtrak programs or operations can be made 24 hours a day via the Amtrak OIG Hotline at 1-800-468-5469 or online at https://direc.to/hPAu.

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