They schemed cell phone users out of $250K in cryptocurrency, feds say
SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man and woman were sentenced to prison for a SIM card-swapping scheme that targeted AT&T customers.
Andrew Percy Trujillo, 22, and Zena Elisa Dounson, 24, were sentenced on Wednesday for charges of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse and wire fraud, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Trujillo was sentenced to 33 months in prison plus three years of supervised release. Dounson, who used to work at AT&T, was sentenced to two months in prison and given five years of probation.
Both were ordered to pay $282,000 in restitution.
Federal authorities said the pair were involved in SIM swapping so they could receive victims’ texts and other sensitive information.
In November 2021, Dounson worked at the AT&T store at Ingram Park Mall and gave Trujillo access to multiple victims’ accounts by adding him as an authorized user, authorities said.
Trujillo ported information on victims’ SIM cards to the SIM cards on his own devices, and he received the victims’ calls and texts instead, the release states.
By doing so, Trujillo and Dounson accessed the victims’ cryptocurrency accounts and transferred out at least $250,000 in cryptocurrency.
They pleaded guilty to the charges last fall.
In the news release, U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas said SIM swapping is a growing crime.
“It’s particularly dangerous because it abuses access to two-factor authentication systems which are intended to provide additional security. Anyone who uses two-factor authentication should be mindful that it is not foolproof, and to still be on the lookout for any suspicious activity involving their phones,” he said.
