Calling card thief sentenced to jail and $1 million fine
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Posted 5:50PM on Thursday, March 14, 2002
ATLANTA - A man who surreptitiously noted the numbers on calling cards being used at public phones and distributed them to others who made illegal calls was sentenced Thursday to two years and nine months in federal prison. <br>
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Thirty-four-year-old Lloyd Richard of Orlando, Florida, is what law enforcement officials call a shoulder surfer. He was indicted on charges in August 2001 and pleaded guilty on December 11, 2001. <br>
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The U.S. Attorney's office in Atlanta said Richard appropriated about 4,400 calling card numbers and caused more than one million dollars in losses by memorizing the numbers as their owners used the cards at airports, including Hartsfield Atlanta, O'Hare in Chicago and Orlando International. <br>
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In addition to the prison sentence, Richard also was ordered to serve three years supervised release and pay more than $1.1 million in restitution. U.S. District Judge Beverly Martin also ordered Richard to be deported to his native Surinam.