MIAMI: Federal agents who searched a padlocked room inside a Miami home in 2020 said they uncovered hundreds of stolen financial accounts, false identification documents and devices containing sensitive personal data — evidence that prosecutors described as part of a large-scale online fraud operation.
A Search Behind a Locked Door
In June 2020, F.B.I. agents executed a search warrant at the Miami home of McKenzie Monestine, then 33, where investigators said they discovered what they characterized as a concentrated trove of stolen financial information.
According to federal authorities, much of the material was found inside a padlocked room. Agents reported locating social security numbers, account passwords, driver’s license numbers, phone numbers, bank account numbers, credit and debit card numbers, and dates of birth belonging to other individuals.
Officials said they also recovered approximately 450 unauthorized access devices, a term commonly used in federal charging documents to describe stolen or fraudulently obtained account credentials. The devices and data were allegedly used to gain access to victims’ financial accounts. The charges, authorities said, stemmed from that 2020 investigation.
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Digital Trails and Seized Evidence
Prosecutors said most of the alleged fraud was carried out online using Monestine’s laptop and multiple cellphones.
On one of the devices, authorities said they uncovered evidence tied to hundreds of compromised accounts. Investigators reported finding numerous text message exchanges that contained sensitive banking information, including credit and debit card personal identification numbers, along with other data used to access victims’ accounts.
Physical evidence was also seized during the search, according to court filings. Agents said they recovered $11,000 in cash, credit cards issued in other people’s names, fake identification documents, Western Union money orders and a credit card re-encoder — a device capable of rewriting magnetic strip data on payment cards. Federal authorities estimated that financial losses to victims ranged between $250,000 and $550,000.
Guilty Plea and Federal Charges
According to the Department of Justice, Monestine pleaded guilty in December to possessing more than 15 unauthorized access devices and to aggravated identity theft.
The charges included possession of unauthorized access devices — a federal offense often associated with large-scale financial fraud — and aggravated identity theft, which carries additional penalties when identity information is used in connection with other crimes.
Authorities have said the case originated with the 2020 F.B.I. investigation that culminated in the search of the residence and the seizure of digital and physical evidence.
Sentencing in Federal Court
On Friday, a federal court sentenced Monestine to 55 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The sentencing followed his guilty plea and closed a case that began nearly four years earlier with the execution of the search warrant.
Federal officials did not elaborate further on the methods used to identify potential victims, but prosecutors maintained that the scale of the recovered data — including hundreds of access devices and detailed personal identifiers — reflected an extensive operation conducted largely through online platforms.
The sentence, handed down in Miami, marks the latest resolution in a case that federal authorities described as rooted in digital fraud and identity theft uncovered behind a locked door.
