A man from Revere, Massachusetts, was convicted of credit card theft and sentenced to 81 months in prison. According to Fraud-News.com, he stole credit cards from health club locker rooms and used them to take cash advances at horse race tracks in at least 10 states.

The amount stolen by the convicted, James Desimone, amounted to over $400,000, which he has been ordered to forfeit to the government. Desimone pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated identity theft, identity fraud. and conspiracy charges.

Desimone and at least four other accomplices traveled around the country and broke into lockers at spa facilities every week for over two years. One of his companions, Dennis Savarese, who committed the actual theft, was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

The other co-conspirators also pleaded guilty, but have yet to be sentenced. All of those involved in the scam would meet at casinos and race tracks after cards had been stolen to take out the cash advances in the cardholders' names.


According to ScamBusters.org, consumers can protect themselves from credit card theft by keeping track of their transactions and being sure to never leave sensitive information lying around. Additionally, some shoppers may choose to use a secure payment service when shopping online.