Nationwide Web crackdown nets local residents

Friday, Aug. 27, 2004 | 9:45 a.m.

Three Southern Nevada residents were swept up Thursday in what the Justice Department billed as the biggest federal crackdown ever on Internet crime.

As part of Operation Web Snare, a Las Vegas couple has been charged in Internet schemes to defraud customers and commit identity thefts. The third person, a Henderson man, pleaded guilty to one count of access device fraud and one count of mail fraud.

More than 150 people have been either arrested or convicted across the country under the operation, Attorney General John Ashcroft said in announcing the results of the summer-long investigation by the FBI, Customs & Immigration Enforcement, Secret Service, Postal Inspection Service and Federal Trade Commission. The two local cases were investigated by the task force as well as the Nevada Cyber Crime Task Force.

Raul Hernandez, 44, with his wife, Gloria, 26, operated an Internet jewelry business from their home in Las Vegas. They face a four-count indictment including wire fraud and aiding and abetting, all felony offenses. The indictment was handed down by a federal grand jury in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

The couple formed Nevada Custom Jewelry Inc. in March 2000, according to the indictment.

They obtained a Clark County business license under the name Nevada Jewelry Design and began operating their venture from their home on the 4400 block of Mountain Vista Street, the indictment said. The couple advertised designer watches for sale on the NJD Web site and on e-Bay.

Customers who purchased the watches on-line submitted credit card information or mailed a check to the couple, or wired money to a bank account.

The defendants, the indictment said, deposited the funds into their bank accounts, promised to ship the jewelry, but instead used the monies for their personal use and never shipped the merchandise, the indictment alleges.

Four victims purchased Rolex watches from NJD between October 2001 and March 2002, for prices ranging from $4,220 to $9,850 each. The indictment alleges that the four customers lost more than $30,000 and never received the jewelry. There are allegedly 10 more victims.

If convicted, Raul and Gloria Hernandez would face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.

In the other local Web Snare case, 39-year-old Marc Allyn Kwasek of Henderson pleaded guilty on July 2 to a single count of access device fraud and a count of mail fraud.

Kwasek was accused of using information obtained by fraud to establish credit card accounts, obtain credit cards and purchase goods and services in the names of two other individuals.

Using stolen identification information, Kwasek opened nine fraudulent business accounts with United Parcel Service and Airborne Express, using the accounts to ship merchandise he was selling over the Internet without paying for it.

Kwasek's scheme cost the companies $40,000 in shipping services.

U.S. District Judge Roger L. Hunt has scheduled Kwasek for sentencing on Sept. 10.

"The above prosecutions show that we are continuing to anticipate and adapt to new trends in Internet crime in Nevada," said U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden.