Man facing prison after search finds device-making gear, encoders, skimmers

FLORIDA – A Florida man has pleaded guilty to access device fraud and aggravated identity theft for actions that took place while he was under supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO) has announced.

United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg said that Yonasky Fernandez Rosa, 40, of Tampa, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for access device fraud and a consecutive two-year minimum mandatory term of imprisonment for aggravated identity theft.

A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, in 2018, Rosa was convicted of access device fraud and aggravated identity theft in federal court in Ohio. After serving 22 months in prison, his supervised release was transferred to the Middle District of Florida, during which he reportedly continued to commit identity theft and access device fraud.

“On April 6, 2021, Rosa used a victim’s personally identifiable information (PII) to purchase gasoline at a Circle-K gas station in Plant City without the victim’s authorization. The victim told law enforcement that he did not know Rosa, did not authorize the purchase, and did not give Rosa permission to possess his PII,” the USAO said in a statement.

On June 2, 2021, during a search of Rosa’s residence in the Town N’ Country neighborhood of Tampa, law enforcement officers said they discovered device-making equipment, including magnetic stripe encoders and skimmers, and hundreds of instances of PII in the form of credit card numbers, cardholder names, and PINs, on Rosa’s laptop computer.

The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services – Office of Agriculture Law Enforcement, the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Highway Patrol. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David W.A. Chee.