Man guilty of Kane County credit card scam

A Chicago man faces up to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to scrambling satellite signals at two Kane County gas stations as part of a credit card scam.

Lester A. Spruille, 25, of the 800 block of West 50th Place, pleaded guilty to two counts each of theft and burglary and nine counts of fraudulent electronic transmission at a hearing before Kane County Judge T. Jordan Gallagher in St. Charles.

Prosecutor Danielle Bechtold said Spruille put tinfoil over satellite dishes used to process credit cards at gas stations in East Dundee and Carpentersville on Sept. 28, 2009. The foil, she said, scrambled the signals, allowing Spruille and a co-defendant, Lawrence Bradley, 25, of Blue Island, to make more than $400 worth of fraudulent purchases. The thefts were foiled when a clerk at the Carpentersville gas station went to investigate and found the satellite covered, Bechtold said.

Gallagher said Spruille, who pleaded guilty without a sentencing guarantee, is eligible for an extended term on the Class 2 felony burglary charges, and faces three to 14 years in prison or probation.