Five individuals have been sentenced for their involvement in a large-scale credit card fraud and money laundering scheme that resulted in more than $3.5 million in fraudulent charges, according to a March 10 announcement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
The sentencing highlights ongoing efforts by federal authorities to address financial crimes that undermine trust in banking systems and cause significant losses to financial institutions.
Willan Pupo, 38, received a sentence of 132 months in federal prison; Joel Castillo, 39, was sentenced to 58 months; William Castillo, 42, received 55 months; Miriam Pupo, 36, was sentenced to 37 months; and Jessica Forpomes, 40, received a sentence of 36 months. All five had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said: “This was a coordinated fraud ring that generated more than $3.5 million in fake charges by manipulating point-of-sale systems, stolen credit cards, and shell companies. They exploited legitimate businesses, abused financial systems, and shifted losses onto banks and processors. Large-scale fraud like this undermines confidence in our financial markets. Those who build criminal enterprises around deception and stolen data will face serious federal prison time.”
Court records show that from at least February 2023 through June 2024, the defendants used legitimate businesses and shell companies to obtain point-of-sale devices from merchant processors. These devices enabled them to process fraudulent transactions using both stolen credit card numbers—acquired via the dark web or encrypted messaging platforms—and cards taken from the mail. The group also accessed databases containing personal identifying information to further their activities.
After processing unauthorized transactions, the defendants quickly moved funds out of related bank accounts before they could be detected by merchant processors or law enforcement agencies. When victims reported fraudulent charges, issuers reversed transactions but left merchant processors and banks with the resulting losses.
In addition to credit card fraud activity, Willan Pupo and Joel Castillo admitted using shell companies to unlawfully obtain over $650,000 through Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). As part of restitution efforts so far, Joel and William Castillo have paid over $800,000.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service Miami Field Office and the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration’s Cybercrimes Investigations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Quin Landon prosecuted the cases with support on asset forfeiture from Assistant U.S. Attorneys Annika Miranda and Robin Waugh as well as former Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon.
Related court documents are available on the District Court for the Southern District of Florida website under case numbers provided for each defendant.
