Rhode Island Man Gets 4 Years In Connecticut/Fed ID Theft Case

CONNECTICUT — A 63-year-old Rhode Island man has ben ordered to spend four years in prison after his sentencing related to a federal identity theft with Connecticut business implications.

Leonard C. Boyle, Acting United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said that Henry A. Fellela Jr., of Johnston, Rhode Island, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 48 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for credit card fraud and identity theft offenses, and for violating the conditions of his supervised release from a prior federal conviction.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in March 2018, Fellela was released from federal prison following a 48-month sentence imposed in the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island for credit card fraud, aggravated identity theft and other offenses.

According to case records, between March 2018 and March 2019, while he was on federal supervised release, Fellela stole credit cards from residents of Connecticut and other states and used the cards to make approximately $48,000 in fraudulent purchases at various retail stores in Connecticut and elsewhere.

On November 5, 2019, Fellela pleaded guilty to one count of access device fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

This is Fellela’s fourth federal conviction.

Fellela was detained from March 8, 2019, to March 23, 2020, when he was released on bond. Judge Meyer ordered him to report to prison on Sept. 20.

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret Donovan and Sarala Nagala.