Elk Grove man is sentenced to prison for fraud

Richard Nuwintore, 42, of Elk Grove was sentenced yesterday to 14 months in prison after pleading guilty to access device fraud. He was accused of using stolen credit card numbers to buy airline tickets for himself and others.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and prosecuted by attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice's Eastern District of California.

According to court documents, Nuwintore used other people’s credit cards without their authorization to buy airline tickets. Law enforcement was able to link him to the tickets because he either was the passenger, the e-ticket for someone else was emailed to the defendant, or the ticket was for a person who had used Western Union to send money to the defendant.

He pleaded guilty in December. As part of his plea agreement, Nuwintore agreed that he was responsible for more than $13,000 in losses.

Nuwintore faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Instead, he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb to the shorter prison time. During sentencing, Shubb said he doubted the defendant’s account of the extent of his role in the scheme.