Hudson Valley Couple Went On $575K Shopping Spree In An Elaborate Credit Card, Identity Theft Scheme: DOJ

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — A Dutchess County couple has been charged in connection with a massive identity theft scheme, according to the feds.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Inspector in Charge of the New York Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Ketty Larco-Ward, announced the arrests on Tuesday of 28-year-old Opeyemi Olujobi, a/k/a "Tyler Olujobi," and 29-year-old Jennie Davidson, both of Poughkeepsie.

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Federal prosecutors accuse the couple of using stolen credit cards in the names of hundreds of victims, which they had mailed to them as part of a conspiracy to fraudulently take over the victims' accounts and make over $575,000 in unauthorized purchases.

"As alleged, Tyler Olujobi and Jennie Davidson enriched themselves by impersonating hard-working New Yorkers and exploiting the good credit their victims had spent years building," Clayton said. "After using the U.S. Postal Service to further their scheme, the defendants embarked on a half-million-dollar spending spree at retail stores across the Tri-State Area. This Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to protecting New Yorkers from thieves who profit from other people's hard-earned credit, and we will continue to bring perpetrators of these shameless fraud schemes to justice."

According to the complaint, from May 2023 to October 2024, Olujobi, Davidson, and/or their co-conspirators contacted a publicly traded consumer financial services company and used other people's names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers, and addresses to falsely identify themselves as the true accountholders of over 200 store credit card accounts.

After gaining access to the cardholders' accounts, the suspects changed the address listed on the account to one of four addresses in Hopewell Junction (one of which was the couple's home), the feds say. They also changed victims' phone numbers to one of many controlled by the fraudsters, according to the allegations. They then reported the cards lost or stolen and requested that new ones be shipped to the updated address on file, the prosecutors contend.

After receiving the victims' credit cards, the suspects used those cards at retail locations throughout the tri-state area to make around $575,000 in unauthorized purchases of gift cards and other merchandise, according to the charging documents.

Video surveillance associated with many of these transactions shows Olujobi and Davidson using the stolen cards, according to the evidence presented by federal prosecutors.

If a transaction was declined or a credit limit was approached, the suspects contacted the victim bank and requested to have the charges approved or the limit raised, investigators say.

In addition, Davidson loaded tens of thousands of dollars of fraud proceeds into an online betting account to hide the illicit source, and then moved those funds into her personal bank account, according to the DOJ.

"The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is firmly committed to investigating those who use the U.S. Mail to steal personally identifying information and take advantage of the American public," Larco-Ward said. "The deliberate use of someone else's identity for financial gain will not be tolerated, and postal inspectors will continue to work tirelessly to put a stop to complex bank and mail fraud schemes such as this."

Olujobi and Davidson were each charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud, which carries up to 30 years in prison; conspiracy to commit access device fraud, which carries up to seven and a half years in prison; access device fraud, which carries up to 15 years in prison; and aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison.

Davidson is also charged with money laundering, which carries up to 20 years in prison.