MADISON - A man who used a credit card scam to defraud four area banks including Amcore's New Glarus branch was sentenced Wednesday in federal court to 14 months in prison and ordered to repay $17,789.
According to the indictment issued Feb. 18:
From Aug. 4-6, 2008, Bruce Eric Williams, 45, of Sacramento, Calif., visited Amcore branches in Madison, New Glarus and Baraboo. He asked tellers for a cash advance on a Capitol One credit card issued to a Bruce Williams, and each time was initially denied the funds. Williams then urged the teller to call an 800 phone number listed on the back of the card or called the number himself. Once connected, he would argue for the advance with a person posing as a representative of the credit card company. The person on the end of the phone eventually would give the teller information to gain off-line authorization on the credit card allowing a cash advance to be made.
The scheme worked at the four branches even though the authorization codes were false.
Williams eventually was apprehended and extradited to Wisconsin.
On Wednesday, District Judge Barbara Crabb imposed the sentence, to be followed by five years on supervised release. In addition to ordering Williams to repay the money taken by fraud, she added the $1,789 extradition expense to bring Williams to Wisconsin.
According to the indictment issued Feb. 18:
From Aug. 4-6, 2008, Bruce Eric Williams, 45, of Sacramento, Calif., visited Amcore branches in Madison, New Glarus and Baraboo. He asked tellers for a cash advance on a Capitol One credit card issued to a Bruce Williams, and each time was initially denied the funds. Williams then urged the teller to call an 800 phone number listed on the back of the card or called the number himself. Once connected, he would argue for the advance with a person posing as a representative of the credit card company. The person on the end of the phone eventually would give the teller information to gain off-line authorization on the credit card allowing a cash advance to be made.
The scheme worked at the four branches even though the authorization codes were false.
Williams eventually was apprehended and extradited to Wisconsin.
On Wednesday, District Judge Barbara Crabb imposed the sentence, to be followed by five years on supervised release. In addition to ordering Williams to repay the money taken by fraud, she added the $1,789 extradition expense to bring Williams to Wisconsin.