United States of America v. Willan Pupo, Joel Castillo, William Castillo, Miriam Pupo, and Jessica Forpomes

Miami, Florida, criminal defense lawyers represent the Defendants charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Willan Pupo, 38, was sentenced to 132 months in federal prison; Joel Castillo, 39, to 58 months; William Castillo, 42, was sentenced to 55 months in federal prison; Miriam Pupo, 36, to 37 months; and Jessica Forpomes, 40, to 36 months. Each defendant previously pleaded guilty to commit money laundering as part of large-scale credit card fraud and money laundering scheme that resulted in more than $3.5 million in fraudulent charges.

“This was a coordinated fraud ring that generated more than $3.5 million in fake charges by manipulating point-of-sale systems, stolen credit cards, and shell companies,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “They exploited legitimate businesses, abused financial systems, and shifted losses onto banks and processors. Large-scale fraud like this undermines confidence in our financial markets. Those who build criminal enterprises around deception and stolen data will face serious federal prison time.”

According to court records, from at least February 2023 through June 2024, the defendants orchestrated a credit card fraud and money laundering scheme involving more than $3.5 million in fraudulent charges. To carry out the scheme, the defendants used legitimate businesses and shell companies to obtain point-of sale (POS) devices from merchant processors. These devices allowed them to process credit and debit card transactions and route funds into accounts under their control.

Once equipped with the POS devices, the defendants conducted fraudulent transactions in several ways. First, they used credit cards belonging to associates to generate sham purchases for goods and services that were never provided. Those associates later disputed the charges to obtain refunds. Second, the defendants purchased stolen credit card numbers on the dark web and through encrypted messaging platforms, including Telegram, and used those numbers to process unauthorized transactions. Third, they use credit cards stolen from the mail to conduct additional fraudulent purchases.

After processing the fraudulent transactions, the defendants quickly transferred or withdrew the proceeds from the associated bank accounts to prevent discovery by merchant processors. When victims reported the fraudulent charges, credit card issuers reversed the transactions, leaving merchant processors and financial institutions to absorb the losses.

To further facilitate the scheme, William Castillo, Willan Pupo, and Joel Castillo accessed a database containing extensive personal identifying information, including names, aliases, dates of birth, social security numbers, addresses, and other sensitive data. They used this information to identify and exploit victims, enabling them to activate stolen credit cards and accelerate their fraudulent activity.

As part of their efforts to make restitution, Joel and William Castillo have paid over $800,000 to date.

In addition to the credit card fraud scheme, Willan Pupo and Joel Castillo admitted to using shell companies to fraudulently obtain Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), receiving more than $650,000 in proceeds.

U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones, Special Agent in Charge Rafael Barros of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, and Assistant Inspector General for Investigations (AIGI) Scott Moffit of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Cybercrimes Investigations Division (CCID), made the announcement.

USSS Miami and TIGTA investigated the cases.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Quin Landon prosecuted the cases. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Annika Miranda and Robin Waugh, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon, handled asset forfeiture.

Willan Pupo was sentenced to 132 months in prison on count 3. Supervised Release for a term of 3 years. Assessment $100.00. Restitution $3,025,814.46. PRIOR JUDGMENT: Imprisonment for a total term of 132 months as to count 3. Supervised Release for a term of 3 years. Assessment $100.00.

Josel Catillo was sentenced to 58 months as to count 3. Supervised Release for a term of three (3) years. Assessment $100.00. Restitution $603,720.00. PRIOR JUDGMENT: Imprisonment for a total term of 58 months as to count 3. Supervised Release for a term of three (3) years. Assessment $100.00. Restitution $603,720.00.