LOS ANGELES — More than two dozen people associated with criminal street gangs face a combined 86 years in prison after pleading guilty in a $1 million fraud scheme, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Friday.
Toni Coffman, the leader of the scheme, received 13 years and 8 months in prison and was ordered to pay a $861,000 restitution. Coffman and 28 others conspired to defraud victims throughout the state by hacking the credit card terminals and merchant accounts of dozens of medical and dental businesses, officials said.
“Criminal activity targeting merchants and consumers not only takes a financial toll on communities, but it endangers public safety,” Bonta said in a statement. “This sentencing should send a powerful message: Criminal activity will not be tolerated in our state and we will hold those participating in illegal activities accountable.”
