CHARLOTTE — A North Carolina man who purchased more than 560 pairs of high-end sneakers using a counterfeit credit card has been sentenced to prison, authorities said.
Charles Vincent Brown, 36, was sentenced last week to 51 months in prison, nearly 10 months after he pled guilty to the fraud charge against him, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina said a news release.
Authorities said Brown, Robert Nathaniel Johnson III, and others used a stolen credit card number to create the counterfeit cards in 2018. Officials said those cards were then used to purchase more than $250,000 in merchandise from Neiman Marcus and other retail stores.
Investigators who searched Brown’s apartment seized the high-end sneakers, clothing, gaming equipment and other items purchased with the cards, according to a court records. Computers, laminators and other items used to manufacture counterfeit cards were also seized at the residence, the release said.
Authorities also discovered text messages on Brown’s cellphone that included receipts for stolen credit card numbers.
Brown has been ordered to pay $237,141.41 in restitution.
Johnson was convicted on fraud charges by a federal jury in July. His sentencing has not been set.