Detroit Man Apprehended in Cranberry Pleads Guilty to Stealing $120,000 Worth of Giant Eagle Gift Cards

A Detroit man accused of stealing $120,000 worth of Giant Eagle gift cards pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to one count of access device fraud.

U.S. States Attorney David Hickton told the court that Jamon Paul Judson, 32, along with a band of others from Michigan, used counterfeited, re-encoded credit cards to buy retail store gift cards from numerous Giant Eagle locations in Pennsylvania and Ohio in 2009.

Police apprehended the group in Cranberry in August 2009 and found they were carrying counterfeited credit cards and a device to make the cards, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Judson will be sentenced Dec. 4 before U.S. District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose. He faces a total sentence of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

The Western Pennsylvania Financial Crimes Task Force conducted the investigation that led to the indictment in this case.