U.S. v. Wemerson Dutra Aguiar & U.S. v. Priscila Barbosa, et al. Scheme involved use of more than 2,000 stolen identities
Petty large rollup but why would I be blogging about this May 7th case now? Well because on May 17, 2021 the DOJ unsealed the indictment. That’s why... let’s do this because
January 2019, and continuing through at least April 2021 - engaging in a nationwide conspiracy to set up fraudulent driver accounts with multiple rideshare and delivery service companies using stolen identities…to rent or sell those accounts to drivers who might not otherwise qualify to drive for those services.
Additionally the scheme involved using the fraudulent accounts to exploit the company’s referral bonus programs, and using automated “bots” and GPS spoofing technology to increase the income earned from the fraudulent driver accounts.1
The government estimates that more than 2,000 victims’ identities were stolen and used as part of the scheme.
defendants conspired with each other and with additional conspirators to defraud at least five different rideshare and delivery companies.
The scheme involved obtaining images of victims’ driver’s licenses and Social Security numbers, creating fraudulent driver accounts using these identifiers, and renting or selling those accounts.
Generally the accounts were rented or sold to individuals who did not otherwise qualify to drive for the rideshare and delivery services because they did not meet minimum qualifications, were not eligible to work in the United States, or could not pass a background check.
allegedly coordinated with each other on the prices they charged drivers to use the fraudulent accounts, and shared tips with each other on how to circumvent the companies’ fraud detection systems.
The conspirators are also alleged to have fraudulently obtained referral bonuses from the companies by creating fraudulent driver accounts for the sole purpose of referring other fraudulent driver accounts.
Bots R US…
The conspirators allegedly used “bots” and GPS spoofing technology to exploit the rideshare and delivery companies’ systems. A “bot” is a software application that runs automated tasks over the Internet. GPS spoofing technology allows a user to fake the user’s location.
Internal Revenue Service Forms 1099 were generated in victims’ names for income the conspirators earned from the rideshare and delivery companies.
As the Complaint and Search Warrant Affidavit States:
DOJ - AFFIDAVIT COMPLAINT and SEARCB WARRANT
“….investigating WEMERSON DUTRA AGUIAR for various federal crimes, including mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit those crimes, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections1341, 1343 and 1349, respectively; aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A; and money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1956 and 1957…
affidavit in support of an application for a search warrant for the carry-on bag located in AGUIAR’s possession when special agents from the FBI arrested AGUIAR on May 5, 2021 (the “Premises”), including but not limited to the mobile phone assigned number 857-XXX-XX14, used by AGUIAR, for which Sprint is the service provider (the “AGUIAR TELEPHONE”) and laptop located in the Premises, as described in Attachment A, because there is probable cause to believe that it contains the fruits, evidence, and instrumentalities of the TARGET OFFENSES, as described in Attachment B.
Rideshare Company A, Delivery Company B, Rideshare Company C, Delivery Company D, and Delivery Company E are referred to herein as the “Rideshare/Delivery Companies.” Delivery Company B, Delivery Company D, and Delivery Company E are referred to collectively as the “Delivery Companies.”
Object and Purposes of the Conspiracy
The Defendants main or preferred method of Communication was WhatsApp - where they sent hundreds of Personal Identifiable Information to other members of the Conspiracy…
The principal object of the conspiracy was to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, by, among other things, creating fraudulent driver accounts with Rideshare/Delivery Companies, and renting or selling the accounts to individuals who might not otherwise qualify to drive for those services, in order to obtain money and property.
The principal purposes of the conspiracy were to enrich the defendants and to conceal their conduct from the Rideshare/Delivery Companies,from law enforcement, and from individual victims’ whose personal identifiers were used to open the fraudulent driver accounts.
Manner and Means of the Conspiracy
In some respects this was a pretty complex conspiracy and had a lot of moving parts” but the common goal was the Defendants unjust enrichment
Obtaining images of victims’ driver’s licenses, or the information on victims’ driver’s licenses, and Social Security Numbers, from various sources including the DarkNet
Editing images of driver’s licenses, insurance documents, and other materials to submit to the Rideshare/Delivery Companies to create fraudulent accounts;
Creating fraudulent accounts to drive for the Rideshare/Delivery Companies using the various stolen identifiers;
May 17, 2021 Indictment
Renting and/or selling those accounts, including to people who might not otherwise qualify to drive for the Rideshare/Delivery Companies;
Coordinating with one another on prices charged to rent and sell accounts;
Sharing tips about how to circumvent the Rideshare/Delivery Companies’ fraud detection systems;
Causing the Rideshare/Delivery Companies to generate Internal Revenue Service Forms 1099 in the names of the identity theft victims for income theynever earned, and attempting to divert those Forms 1099 from being sent to the victims;
The defendants, when delivering Food Orders that had alcohol in the order, would ask the customer for a photo id, the defendants would then take a picture of the ID (front and back) and then use WhatsApp or Text the pictures to BARBOSA (and others…
Count One of the May 17, 2021 Indictment:
…conspired with one another, and with others known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to commit wire fraud, that is, having devised and intending to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud and to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises, to transmit and cause to be transmitted, by means of wire communications in interstate and foreign commerce, writings, signs, signals, pictures and sounds, for the purpose of executing the scheme to defraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.
Again a Boston CBS News Affiliate interviewed the acting US Attorney and he stated that, thus far 2,000 victims have been identified. But remember this was a nationwide scam/scheme and the US Attorney said “the number of victims is likely to grow” so if you’ve used Uber, Lyft and/or Grubhub and a driver/delivery person took a photo of your Government issued ID (like a driver’s license, likely took a photo of the front and back - then it’s likely your PII was stolen and used in this scheme
If you would like to determine whether a 1099 has been issued to your name, you may utilize the IRS webpage, https://www.irs.gov/individuals/transcript-types-and-ways-to-order-them, to order a Wage and Income Transcript of documents that identify whether a 1099 has been issued in your name. Current tax year information may not be complete until July. If you find that a 1099 is issued in your name fraudulently and would like to determine if it is associated with the case, please send an email to USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov and provide your name and best contact information and a member of the Victim Witness Unit will contact you regarding this case.
May 7 2021 - DOJ-OPA Nineteen Brazilian Nationals Charged in Nationwide Conspiracy to Open Fraudulent Driver Accounts at Leading Rideshare and Delivery Service Companies - Scheme involved use of more than 2,000 stolen identities…last visited May 17, 2021
wow. just, wow. and, you're on it as always!