According to court documents, Johnson conspired with Timothy Banks, 22, to make money through counterfeiting by re-encoding gift cards with stolen credit card account numbers.
The duo caught the attention of authorities when they were found sleeping in a U-Haul van with the engine running at a gas pump on Sept. 1.
Johnson had rented the van for what was supposed to be one day, but instead kept it for nearly a month. He drove it for more than 8,000 miles, prosecutors said.
“Officers approached the van at the Speedway gas station in Miami County, fearing the men had overdosed in the vehicle. Instead, officers discovered Banks asleep at the wheel, and Johnson asleep on an inflatable mattress in the rear compartment of the van,” federal prosecutors said. “Officers also found a credit card reader/encoder, 12 counterfeit credit cards, 41 re-encoded gift cards, and a total of 54 credit card account numbers. Officers also discovered $100 in Target gift cards and $365 in iTunes gift cards.”
Johnson and Banks pleaded guilty in February 2019 to conspiring to use counterfeit access devices. Banks was sentenced earlier this year to probation with home confinement, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
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