Former Fair Lawn Business Owner Admits Credit Card Fraud of as Much as $2.5 Million

NEWARK – A former Fair Lawn business owner pleaded guilty today to defrauding credit card companies of as much as $2.5 million through bogus charges at his business and elsewhere, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Mohamad Abdualraof Abdulaal, a/k/a “Moe Abdulaal,” 37, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh to an Information charging one count of conspiracy and one count of credit card fraud. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 16.

Abdulaal remains in federal custody pending sentencing. He had been serving a 27-month federal prison sentence for bank fraud when he was charged in June 2005 with the unrelated credit card fraud charges to which he pleaded guilty today.

Abdulaal registered as entering the United States from Jordan in December 1990. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in June 1996.

In his plea agreement, Abdulaal stipulated that the credit card fraud scheme in which he and his co-conspirators engaged resulted in between at least $1 million and as much as $2.5 million in fraudulent charges at Abdulaal’s business and elsewhere.

Abdulaal admitted to incurring bogus charges using the credit card machine at his computer and electronics store, PC Tech, in Fair Lawn, and another credit card machine he obtained in the business name of “Exponent Enterprises,” as part of the fraud. Abdulaal further admitted that he and others used credit cards in the names of others involved in the scheme to incur bogus charges at Abdulaal’s businesses and elsewhere, knowing the credit card companies would never be reimbursed for those charges.

Abdulaal admitted that he provided no merchandise in exchange for the bogus charges at his store, and that he charged the credit cards to obtain money from the credit card companies. Abdulaal also admitted that, when the credit card companies paid Abdulaal for the charges made at his businesses, Abdulaal shared the proceeds with other individuals involved in the scheme, including the credit card holders. According to the Information to which he pleaded guilty, Abdulaal also sent some of the proceeds of the credit card fraud overseas, including to Jordan and Lebanon.

Abdulaal was arrested in connection with the credit card fraud case on June 30, 2005. At that time, he was serving a 27-month sentence at the Federal Correctional Center in Fort Dix for an April 2002 bank fraud. Pursuant to a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Abdulaal plead guilty to the 2002 bank fraud in February 2003, and was sentenced on that charge by U.S. District Judge William G. Bassler in February 2004.

Count One of the Information charged Abdulaal with conspiracy to commit credit card fraud, and Count Two charged him with credit card fraud, which carry maximum penalties of 7 ½ years and 15 years imprisonment, respectively. Each Count also carries a maximum fine equal to the greater of $250,000, or twice the gross value obtained by the offense or loss to victims of the offense.

In determining an actual sentence, Judge Cavanaugh will consult the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the defendant's criminal history, if any, and other factors. The Guidelines, however, are only advisory, and Judge Cavanaugh has the discretion to sentence within or outside of any range determined under the Guidelines.

Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Defendants who are given custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.

Christie credited Special Agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Leslie G. Wiser, Jr.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Judith H. Germano of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark.

Defense Attorney:

Anthony G. Simonetti, Esq., West Trenton