A Peruvian national has admitted to his involvement in a scheme involving credit card thefts and identity thefts that often targeted elderly women at retail stores across the U.S.
Erick Christian Luna de la Cruz, 34, a citizen of Peru residing in Edison, New Jersey, pleaded guilty Wednesday in New Haven federal court to conspiracy to commit access device fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
In 2022, the FBI and local law enforcement agencies across the eastern U.S. and in Connecticut began investigating a series of thefts typically involving elderly women at Trader Joe’s grocery stores, TJ Maxx stores, and other retail stores, court records show.
According to court records, investigators learned that Luna de la Cruz and others traveled across the U.S. to reportedly steal wallets from “unwary” victims then use the victims’ credit and debit cards to purchase electronic devices and other items at other stores.
“Luna de la Cruz and his associates stopped at shipping providers along their route to ship the goods they purchased to a co-conspirator’s address in New Jersey,” court records show.
Luna de la Cruz was arrested on June 28, 2024. He is currently released on a $100,000 bond under electronic monitoring pending sentencing, which is scheduled for April 22. He is facing a maximum term of five years in prison.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Manchester Police Department, with the assistance of the Orange Police Department, the Fairfax County (Virginia) Police Department, the Spartanburg County (South Carolina) Sheriff’s Office, the Spartanburg Police Department, the Warwick (Rhode Island) Police Department, the Cary (North Carolina) Police Department, and the Metropolitan Nashville (Tennessee) Police Department.

