Former Idaho Falls Man Sentenced for Debit Card Fraud

Troy Caleb Wood, 37, of Oregon City, Oregon, and formerly of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in federal prison for access device fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced. U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge also ordered Wood to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term, and to pay $98,005 in restitution. Wood pleaded guilty to the charge in March 2010.

Wood admitted making unauthorized charges to the Pilot Career Foundation debit cards of students at the Let’s Fly flight school in Rigby, Idaho. The debit cards were linked to proceeds of their student loans and each transaction from the debit card was charged against their student loan. The cards were debited for flight time and training. Wood was in charge of billing for the flight school. In 2005, some students began noticing that their debit cards, and thus their student loans, had been billed for amounts far in excess of their actual flight time and training costs. Wood admitted overbilling the flight students and using the proceeds for his personal benefit.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.