Three metro-east men sentenced for ripping off $14K in gas pump fraud, feds say
.jpg "Judge Staci M. Yandle of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois gave three men sentences of prison time and ordered them to pay restitution in a gas pump fraud case.")
Three men from Belleville, East St. Louis and Collinsville have been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution for using counterfeit credit and debit cards to fill up drivers’ gas tanks at gas stations in exchange for cash, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
Dee E. Day, 31, of Belleville, was sentenced Monday to 30 months in prison by Judge Staci M. Yandle of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
Yandle sentenced Montuelle F. Wright, 33, of East St. Louis, and Marquise Q. Golliday, 29, of Collinsville, to 28 months in prison each at hearings late last year.
The men made more than 130 fraudulent transactions totaling over $14,000, mostly from Nov. 1-5, 2019, at the MotoMart gas station in Sauget, federal court records in the Southern District of Illinois state. Golliday made posts on social media in November 2019 promoting their scheme, according to court records.
Bank accounts belonging to 34 victims were charged for their purchases.
Day, Wright and Golliday all pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Attorney Peter Cohen, who represented Wright in the case, noted in a statement to the Belleville News-Democrat that the conduct happened more than five years ago. Cohen said his client had not been in trouble since then and had obtained a well-paying job.
“I know that he is remorseful for his conduct and eager to finish his sentence and rejoin society as a productive citizen,” Cohen stated.
Defense attorneys who represented the other men could not immediately be reached for comment.
The U.S. Secret Service led the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Reed prosecuted the case.
