On August 30th, an Old Faithful resident reported that her wallet had been lost and possibly stolen. The next day, she discovered activity on her credit cards, including an order for a mountain bike costing $1,118. Rangers began an investigation and subsequently tracked the order down to a bike shop in Pennsylvania. They were able to stop the order, then followed a series of leads to a concession employee – Jason Pederson, 28 – residing at Old Faithful. NPS special agents obtained a search warrant for his house and executed it on September 10th. They found evidence within of the original wire and credit card fraud and evidence of the use of stolen credit cards. Based on this evidence and their investigation, agents filed a criminal complaint and secured a felony arrest warrant on a misdemeanor and two felony counts (18 USC violations pertaining to wire fraud, use of a stolen credit card and possession of stolen property). During the investigation, Pederson fled from the park. An arrest warrant was entered into NCIC and he was tracked to Salt Lake City. An Old Faithful ranger was able to obtain a photo of his residence there, and agents provided leads to Salt Lake City police. On December 2nd, city officers found and arrested Pederson near his residence on the Yellowstone warrant. Federal marshals took him into custody. Following an initial appearance before the US magistrate in Salt Lake City, he was ordered detained and removed to the Wyoming judicial district. On December 18th, Pederson appeared before the magistrate at Yellowstone. In a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he entered a guilty plea to one 18 USC count of possession of stolen property and the remaining two counts were dismissed. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail, ordered to pay $1,000 in fines and a $25 victim fund assessment, and placed on five years’ probation.
