Man who stole through card skimming sentenced

A Chicago man who pleaded guilty to charges he organized a ring that stole more than $200,000 from diners using bank or credit cards at restaurants and other venues has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Joseph Woods on Tuesday pleaded guilty in Cook County Circuit Court to felony conspiracy to commit a financial crime.

According to prosecutors, the 32-year-old Woods was the organizer of an identity theft and bank fraud scheme in which he and his accomplices skimmed information from customers’ credit cards at several restaurants and Wrigley Field.

Prosecutors said Woods paid employees of the restaurants to skim customer credit card information by using a small card reader he provided. Woods used the account information to create counterfeit credit cards, purchasing items with them.