A Las Vegas man was sentenced Wednesday to one year of probation for using counterfeit credit cards with stolen bank account information to buy gift cards at Sam’s Club locations in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.
Hector Ofelio Podio Gutierrez, 31, was ordered by a federal judge in Pittsburgh to spend six months of his probation term on house arrest, according to court papers. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy in July and was ordered to pay $170,000 in restitution.
An indictment filed in 2018 indicated that Gutierrez and a co-conspirator made the unauthorized purchases totaling $382,000 in December 2017 in Pennsylvania, California and Florida. Authorities said they drove to the Western Pennsylvania locations in a vehicle rented at Pittsburgh International Airport.
They hit the Hempfield and Monroeville Sam’s Clubs four times each and the Frazer location on three occasions, among others, according to the indictment. Purchases of about $170,000 were made at the Allegheny and Westmoreland county stores.
