San Francisco Man Financed Jet-Set Lifestyle With Stolen Credit Cards
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A 51-year-old San Francisco man who financed a jet-set lifestyle of first class travel and luxury hotel accommodations was facing a lengthy federal term after his conviction Wednesday of several counts of identity theft.
Marcus Dieter Felder was convicted of four counts related to identity theft and faces more than 40 years in federal prison and more than $700,000 in fines when he is sentenced by Judge Maxine Chesney on May 30th.
Felder was found guilty of using Visa, MasterCard, and American Express credit cards issued to other persons to engage in transactions at high-end or boutique hotels including the Four Seasons Resort in Maui, Waldorf Astoria Grand Wailea and several venues in San Francisco including the Fairmont Hotel, the Hotel Nikko, the Hilton Union Square, the Grand Hyatt, and the Hotel Metropolis.
Prosecutors said evidence presented at trial showed that among other transactions, Felder used stolen credit cards to pay for first-class air travel from San Francisco to Maui on United Airlines and to rent an exotic car from Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
The evidence showed numerous instances of credit card fraud in San Francisco; Hawaii; Placer County and elsewhere in April 2013, June 2014, and October 2014.
Investigators also found that Felder had illegally used personal information associated with another individual who shared his first and last names during some of the incidents of credit card fraud.
Felder is currently on release on a bond.
