BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A waitress who stole customers’ credit card numbers so her boyfriend could make fraudulent purchases was sentenced Tuesday to probation for three years.
Whitney Taylor, 37, pleaded to no contest to a 13 counts, including 12 counts of misappropriating identification information, and improperly possessing a credit card scanning device. Nine other counts were dismissed.
Judge Beau Liegeois also ordered Taylor to perform 100 hours of community service. Restitution will determined within 60 days.
Brandon Washington was previously sentenced to two years in prison for his role in the scheme.
According to the criminal complaint, two customers at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Ashwaubenon were notified by their credit card company about suspicious purchases in Minnesota, leading them to notify police. The restaurant identified one waitress, Whitney Taylor, as having complaints against her for an issue with a credit card.
Taylor told police Washington said he would give her $100 for every ten credit cards she would steal for him. She would use the camera on her phone to take pictures of credit cards and ID cards. However, when she only got $150 and the police started asking questions, Taylor said she stopped helping him.
“Taylor stated that she would ask customers for their ID’s, indicating that she was verifying information. Taylor stated that it became difficult for her to use her phone without drawing suspicion, so she would write it down or try to remember the information. Taylor also admitted that she would try to engage customers in an attempt to solicit information about their address and zip codes,” the complaint states. “Brandon told her that he was using the stolen credit cards to make purchases on-line and pay for other people’s bills.”
Police searched Washington’s apartment and found about 1,000 blank checks with nobody’s name on them, a credit card skimmer and a variety of credit cards. Police also recovered text message between Washington and the Taylor with details about the exchange of information. Washington said none of the items belonged to him.
She admitted to her role in the scheme, according to the complaint: “I am sorry to all the people that I stole information from as they did not deserve it,” she said.
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