Leader of Credit Card "Bust Out" Scheme Sentenced to 25 Months in Prison

NEWARK – A Syrian national was sentenced today to 25 months in prison for recruiting more than a dozen others to commit fraudulent credit card “bust outs” in New Jersey over a four-year span ending in 2002, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano also ordered Samer Makso, 46, to pay $1,472,835 in restitution to the credit card companies Makso defrauded. Judge Pisano ordered Makso to turn himself in to the federal Bureau of Prisons by June 1. He remains free on $100,000 bail until then.

A legal permanent resident in the United States, Makso lived at various times in Brooklyn, N.Y., Allentown, Pa., and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., since his arrival in the U.S. in 1976. Since January 1999, the Makso-led credit card “bust out” schemes resulted in more than $1.5 million in fraudulent purchases of merchandise and cash advances, according to Coleen F. Middleton, the Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case.

(Although the restitution amount is set at $1,472,835, Makso has stipulated that the value of the fraud was more than $1.5 million but less than $2.5 million.)

Makso pleaded guilty on Jan. 18, 2005 to one count of credit card fraud, and admitted before Judge Pisano that he committed and caused others to commit “bust outs.” Neither Makso nor his co-schemers had the means or intent of ever making bonafide repayments for the purchased items or cash advances.

Middleton advised Judge Pisano today that Makso faces deportation for his role in the offense.

According to a criminal complaint filed against Makso in November 2003, Makso and his recruits committed the fraudulent “bust out” schemes by opening dozens of credit accounts, which typically over a span of only a few months were used to obtain substantial cash advances and make large purchases, including electronic equipment, clothing, household furniture, appliances, jewelry and airline tickets.

When the credit limits on accounts were reached, Makso and his recruits issued checks to the companies for the purpose of obtaining immediate additional credit, knowing that these checks would soon be rejected for being drawn on accounts with insufficient funds, according to court documents. Then, after the fraudulent payments were posted to their accounts, but before the checks were returned, Makso and his recruits made additional purchases and took more cash advances. In addition, Makso directed several recruits to file for bankruptcy protection, for the purpose of eliminating the debt that resulted from the fraudulent scheme.

According to the Information to which Makso pleaded guilty, Makso used and caused to be used one or more unauthorized credit cards during a one-year period and thereby obtained things of value aggregating more than $1,000. To obtain higher credit limits on the accounts, and thus increase the purchasing capability, Makso caused his recruits to inflate their annual income on credit card applications.

Makso admitted that he and his co-schemers used the cards to purchase merchandise at retail stores throughout New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and obtain cash advances at ATM machines and casinos in Atlantic City. Makso admitted that when the cash advances and purchases on the cards neared the credit limits, he submitted payments to the credit card companies in the form of checks drawn on accounts that Makso knew contained insufficient funds. In this way, Makso and his recruits were able to far exceed the applicable credit limits on the credit cards. Makso admitted that he and his co-schemers divided the illegal proceeds.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is continuing its investigation into Makso’s “bust out” recruits.

U.S. Attorney Christie credited Special Agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Leslie Wiser, Jr., for their successful investigation. The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Middleton, of the Government Fraud Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.

Counsel for Samer Makso: Bruce S. Rosen Esq. of Chatham