Credit card fraud nets three years in prison
MADISON — A transient who committed credit card fraud while staying in an Afton motel was sentenced Wednesday in federal court to three years in prison.
The man also was ordered to repay merchants $19,365 after he used 32 illegally acquired credit card numbers on 270 occasions to obtain thousands of dollars of merchandise.
Thomas J. Bluhm, 23, obtained "batches" of credit card numbers via the Internet from a person he identified only as "Batpower." At Batpower's direction, Bluhm bought specific merchandise and shipped it to countries in the Middle East, including Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Egypt, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim O'Shea said.
O'Shea wouldn't specify what merchandise Bluhm had shipped to the Middle East but said the FedEx charges totaled $3,900.
Between July and August 2008, Bluhm used the credit cards to order clothing, binoculars, electronic devices, tickets to Texas Ranger baseball games and hotel accommodations, according to court documents. Bluhm also used the cards to buy merchandise apparently for himself, including a foosball table.
After Bluhm ordered Kwik Trip gas cards valued at $1,000 for delivery to a motel room in Janesville, the retailer alerted Janesville police, who questioned and arrested him in August 2008. Despite the arrest and warnings from authorities to cease, Bluhm continued his unauthorized use of credit cards for months, O'Shea said.
Bluhm's attorney, Kelly Welsh, said the only illegally charged goods that her client kept were food, clothing and shelter. He shipped the rest overseas, Welsh said.
"He didn't use the credit cards to go jet-setting across the country and to buy expensive jewelry," said Welsh, who recommended an 18-month sentence.
Bluhm said he turned to drugs and alcohol after an abusive childhood and after sleepwalking caused him to be honorably discharged from the Navy. Needing money, he turned to the Internet and found credit card fraud schemes to exploit.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb told Bluhm, "What a danger you present to society as you absolutely have no stopping point" when it comes to credit card fraud. Concluding he was a high risk to reoffend, Crabb said she had no choice but to lock up Bluhm for as long as she could.
Crabb even refused to reduce Bluhm's sentence despite his guilty plea because he attempted to commit an unspecified and uncharged fraudulent act while in Dane County Jail.
Aug 7, 2009 at 4:43 p.m.
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Nice Joker. You might want to put a little diclosure on your statement though... some people around here don't get jokes.
Aug 7, 2009 at 2:14 p.m.
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I think the Afton Hotel is really Skip's Bar and Grill.
Aug 7, 2009 at 12:28 p.m.
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My guess would be...the credit card companies didn't want to be bothered ?? It's just like if you have mail/package stolen from YOUR mailbox it is up to the postal service if they want to prosecute.We had a box of checks stolen and indentified the person that was writting them,the bank or the post office said it wasn't a large enough amount to prosecute.We got all of the money back but still felt he should of been charged.
Aug 7, 2009 at 11:32 a.m.
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so why was he let go in the first place?? doesn't that seem odd to anyone here?
Aug 7, 2009 at 11:17 a.m.
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w8nc...Yes I WAS trying to make a funny :).foxyroush could be a friend of janesvillean ,or just thinks the same as he does ?! I like to laugh at life more than analyzing everything.At first I was excited thinking Afton had a motel where my family could stay for our yearly vacation.LOL....
Aug 7, 2009 at 11:14 a.m.
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Just curious, why wouldn't they prosecute??
Aug 7, 2009 at 11:02 a.m.
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My mom's credit card was stolen. The perpetrator used it about 50 times. They know who he is, and they have video of him using it at the gas stations he went to. When we found out who he was, he started harassing her granddaughter and also posted death threats on her myspace. He was never even given a ticket.
Aug 7, 2009 at 10:56 a.m.
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Why work when you can get things for nothing??
Aug 7, 2009 at 9:55 a.m.
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Ihavealife's comment about no hotel being in Afton was meant to be funny (or at least that's how I took it). I thought it was funny anyway. Then again, I am familiar with this place they call Afton.
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I also like how this guy used credit card fraud as his means to get money. How about getting a JOB??? Did that EVER cross his mind?
Aug 7, 2009 at 9:27 a.m.
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ihavealife: Anyone can tell you are quite a young person (at least maturity-wise).
janesvillean has as much right to comment on here as you do! janesvillean was only saying there's no motel listing, that it could be rooms for rent or something like that.. why jump down someones' throat for that??? wow..how immature...trying to "start" something over nothing.
Aug 7, 2009 at 9:20 a.m.
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The ironic part of this, is that he didn't quit when he got arrested. LOSER!
Aug 7, 2009 at 8:42 a.m.
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janesvillean... OMG!!! We get that there is NO motel in Afton...Laugh more in life instead of always thinking you need the last word or to prove us all wrong!
Aug 7, 2009 at 1:23 a.m.
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There's no motel listed at the address given in the court record (look it up if you want), but I expect that means it's more like rooms for rent or something.
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Three years in the pen is a long time. I knew a guy who was put away for aiding and abetting tax fraud. He was a lawyer. 32 months. It's probably a typical sentence for a non-violent money crime (I hesitate to call this "white collar"). Do people get their ideas of sentencing from TV, or something?
Aug 6, 2009 at 11:12 p.m.
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I wish it was longer but three years in a fed prison is a long three years I am hoping. His attorney must have been thinking, "How the heck am I gonna defend this loser?".
Aug 6, 2009 at 11 p.m.
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AFTON MOTEL!?? what or where is this Afton located?..not the one I live in..
Aug 6, 2009 at 9:16 p.m.
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Sounds like he got his hands slapped! 3years??
Aug 6, 2009 at 8:09 p.m.
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i does`nt make a diff about what you bought,he kept using the system,i`m sure he had a friend he could of stayed with,just glad it`s not my card
Aug 6, 2009 at 7:52 p.m.
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I guess he won't be a transient for a few years anyway. Don't really care what he kept for himself. He knew it was illegal and he deserves every day in jail he was given. Cleaning up the theft of your identity is a nightmare, frequently cost a bunch and makes your life miserable until resolved.
Aug 6, 2009 at 6:41 p.m.
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Afton has a motel ?
Aug 6, 2009 at 5:25 p.m.
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Well, it's not much of a defense, but it seems to be along the lines of saying he was just an accomplice. But this unknown person "Batpower" -- a Russian hacker, quite possibly -- is not available for prosecution.
Aug 6, 2009 at 4:45 p.m.
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"Bluhm's attorney, Kelly Welsh, said the only illegally charged goods that her client kept were food, clothing and shelter. He shipped the rest overseas, Welsh said.
"He didn't use the credit cards to go jet-setting across the country and to buy expensive jewelry," said Welsh, who recommended an 18-month sentence."
Um, so that makes it somehow OK?????
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