Sentences announced for defendants of Chicago skimming spree

A federal judge has sentenced seven defendants that took part in a Chicago skimming spree that targeted patrons of Chicago-area restaurants, including some at Wrigley Field.

All of the defendants had pleaded guilty, and their punishments ranged from six years in prison to two years of probation. 

The ringleader of the operation, Joseph Woods, 33, paid the other defendants, who worked at the various businesses such as McDonald's, Taco Bell and retail stands at the historic Chicago ballpark, to utilize a card skimmer to collect personal banking information. 

With the data, which belonged to customers of financial institutions like Chase, Bank of America, and Citibank, the defendants created counterfeit credit cards which were used to make more than $200,000 in illegal purchases.