Four defendants accused of traveling across multiple states to steal wallets from hospitals and universities and then rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent purchases have pleaded guilty in federal court in Lexington, abandoning plans for a February jury trial.
The case, filed last spring in the Eastern District of Kentucky, alleged that the defendants targeted victims inside public buildings — including medical centers and college campuses — stealing debit and credit cards and the personal information needed to continue spending after the initial theft.
Ivory Joe Pruitt, Yoshi Keori Williams, Tashawn Shamal Canegata and Daniel Rashaud Sanchious each appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew A. Stinnett on Jan. 28 and asked to change their pleas, according to court records. The magistrate judge has since recommended that the district court accept the guilty pleas and order forfeiture tied to the proceeds of the scheme…