These four people did not hit the Vegas jackpot, and now they're in jail

Four Miami residents traveled to Las Vegas — but not to bet in the casinos or hit the nightspots.

Mario Ernesto Perez, Alain Hurtado Gonzalez, Daynay Perez and Inés Rodriguez drove in a rental car for almost two days, covering the more than 2,500 miles from Florida to Nevada. Then, authorities said, they used several counterfeit credit cards to make purchases in luxury stores.

The date was Sept. 12, 2014, and police say they bought expensive handbags, watches and glasses for more than $23,654, which they sent by mail to an address in Miami.

The authorities tracked the packages and discovered that all the expensive purchases had been purchased with several credit cards in the name of other people, according to court documents.

It was not the first time that the band traveled to Vegas. They had already made trips in March, April and May 2013 using several fake credit cards, according to the court papers.

The four were charged in federal court in Miami with identity theft and fraud, charges that could be sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. The four pleaded guilty.

This week, Daynay Pérez was sentenced to 28 months in prison, and Alain Hurtado and Mario Ernesto Pérez to 16 months in prison. Inés Rodríguez had already been sentenced in 2016 to three years of probation. Everyone will have to pay back the $23,654.

This story was originally published May 10, 2018 at 11:12 AM with the headline "These four people did not hit the Vegas jackpot, and now they're in jail."