Peruvian National Involved in Credit Card Theft, Identity Theft Scheme Pleads Guilty

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ERICK CHRISTIAN LUNA DE LA CRUZ, 34, a citizen of Peru residing in Edison, New Jersey, pleaded guilty today in New Haven federal court to an offense related to his participation in a credit card theft and identity theft scheme.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2022, the FBI and local law enforcement agencies in Connecticut and elsewhere began investigating a series of distraction thefts of wallets from victims, typically elderly women, at Trader Joe's grocery stores, TJ Maxx stores, and other retail stores in Connecticut and elsewhere. The investigation revealed that Luna de la Cruz and others traveled throughout the U.S. in order to steal wallets from unwary victims, and then use the victims' credit and debit cards to purchase electronic devices and other items at other stores. Luna de la Cruz and his associates stopped at shipping providers along their route to ship the goods they purchased to a co-conspirator's address in New Jersey.

Luna de la Cruz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.

Luna de la Cruz was arrested on June 28, 2024. He is released on a $100,000 bond under electronic monitoring pending sentencing, which is scheduled for April 22.

This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Manchester (Conn.) Police Department, with the assistance of the Orange (Conn.) Police Department, the Fairfax County (Va.) Police Department, the Spartanburg County (S.C.) Sheriff's Office, the Spartanburg Police Department, the Warwick (R.I.) Police Department, the Cary (N.C.) Police Department, and the Metropolitan Nashville (Tenn.) Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathan J. Guevremont and Michael S. McGarry.