By Mike W. Ray Southwest Ledger OKLAHOMA CITY – Another Canadian accused of operating a criminal ring that fraudulently acquired personal protective equipment and Oklahoma State University athletic event tickets for resale to third parties for a profit in a multimillion-dollar scheme admitted his role in the operation during an appearance in Oklahoma City’s Western District federal court.
Robert Vinnik, 29, of Ontario, Canada, pleaded guilty June 14 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester announced. At sentencing, Vinnik faces up to 20 years in federal prison, and a fine of up to $250,000, and part of his plea agreement demands that he make restitution.
A federal grand jury here indicted Vinnik and six other co-defendants, including five Canadians and an Angeleno, charging the group with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In addition, Vinnik and one of his co-defendants were charged with aggravated identity theft.
Vinnik and his associates operated a scheme to use stolen credit cards, aliases and stolen identities to contact vendors and induce businesses to provide goods and services, such as event tickets and personal protective equipment, to resell for a profit.
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the conspirators began targeting U.S.-based businesses selling goods that were scarce due to the pandemic. The conspirators used stolen credit card information to purchase items such as nitrile gloves, masks, and gowns and to resell them to third parties.
Evidence showed that the conspirators operated the scheme from Canada, Dominican Republic, Spain, Greece, and Dubai. The conspirators also targeted sports teams and event venues throughout the United States and Canada, including Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Vinnik and his associates used 21 different alias email accounts and information from 52 stolen credit cards to purchase 1,806 tickets to Oklahoma State University athletic events between Nov. 26, 2019, and Jan. 1, 2020; several of those tickets were to the 2019 “Bedlam” football game between the Oklahoma State University Cowboys and the University of Oklahoma Sooners. The financial loss to OSU totaled $679,330, investigators reported.
In March 2020 the conspirators used stolen credit card information to fraudulently purchase $18,094 worth of toilet paper from a company in Oklahoma City. Prosecutors said the ring also tried to buy 10 tickets to an Eagles concert.
Five other defendants in the case have pleaded guilty, and four of them have been sentenced. The case against a seventh defendant remains active, court records indicate.
• Steven Mesrop, 32, of Ontario, pleaded guilty in August 2021 to participating in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He was sentenced in October 2022 to 80 months (six year and eight months) in federal prison. He also was ordered to pay $3,463,254 in restitution.
• Dijon Cornelius Shepard, 30, from Los Angeles, California, pleaded guilty in August 2021 to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. He was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison and was ordered to pay $654,609 in restitution. In addition, at the time this case was being prosecuted Shepard was on probation from Los Angeles County on a felony theft conviction, court records reflect.
• Mirna Mahrous Habib, 27, of Ontario, was sentenced in October 2022 to serve four months in federal prison for aggravated identity theft and was ordered to pay $683,243 in restitution. Habib, identified by investigators as Steven Mesrop’s girlfriend, helped the ring to “commit fraud through the use of stolen credit cards at the direction of Mesrop” since at least October 2018, an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit filed with the court. In return for her work, Habib “was rewarded with a lavish lifestyle including international travel, luxury gifts, money, and a breast augmentation,” the investigator wrote.
• Karin Treister, 27, hometown unknown, pleaded guilty in August 2021 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. At sentencing in December 2021 she received no prison time but was ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution. Treister was described by investigators as “a close friend” of Habib and was identified during a search of Habib’s mobile ’phone.
• Carolina Mesrop, 26, a Canadian, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She is to appear in federal court again on Sept. 5 for a combined plea-and-sentencing hearing.
• Katayun Oskoi, 27, also from Ontario, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The status of her case is unclear from court records.
The case was investigated by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, New York’s El Dorado Task Force, the New York City Police Department, and the Irvine, California Police Department, with assistance from Customs and Border Protection.