STATE OF KANSAS

Tenth Judicial District

OFFICE OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Steve Howe, District Attorney
White Collar Crime Division ~ Consumer Protection Division

PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

From: Steve Howe
(Olathe, KS)

Date: October 26, 2015

Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe announced a defendant charged in

an international identity theft scheme that involved stealing credit card numbers from
Canadian citizens has been convicted of multiple felonies and sentenced to prison.
Jerad Santiapillai was convicted of 32 felonies and misdemeanors at trial in July
for his role in the scheme. Today, Santiapillai was sentenced to 70 months in the Kansas
Department of Corrections. The convictions are the result of a joint investigation by the
Overland Park Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Johnson County
Sheriffs Office Criminalistics Laboratory, and the United States Secret Service.
Howe stated Santiapillai perpetrated a scheme where he and other unidentified coconspirators obtained credit card numbers in Canada through the use of skimming
devices. Santiapillai traveled to the United States where he encoded the stolen credit card
numbers on blank card stock and used the cards to withdraw thousands of dollars from
ATMs. Investigators located Santiapillais hotel room which contained a computer, reencoder, card stock and over $80,000 in cash.

The investigation revealed the

compromise of over 500 credit card accounts through this scheme.

Howe warns individuals to monitor their credit card statements and bank
accounts for unauthorized activity and immediately report the activity to their financial
institutions and law enforcement.
The case was prosecuted by Vanessa Riebli and Jacob Gontesky.

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