HOUSTON (AP) — A Houston auto-related store owner has been sentenced to four years in federal prison in a wire fraud and identity theft case involving his business.
Austyn Enahoro Afenkhena of Houston was also ordered Thursday to pay nearly $246,000 in restitution.
Prosecutors say the 53-year-old businessman was convicted of 11 counts of wire fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft in a scheme since 2008.
Officials say Afenkhena obtained credit cards that were created from stolen identities. He would run the cards through his store front, Phase 2 Auto Repair, to obtain cash. He also created fake merchant accounts using names related to the auto industry to get processing devices to run the bogus credit cards.
