RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal judge has sentenced a Raleigh, North Carolina, man to prison for his role in a scam involving two crimes that have troubled the fuel and convenience industry — credit card fraud and cigarette trafficking.

Ibrahim Barrie will serve a total of 42 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release on charges of aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit access device fraud, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Thomas Walker of Raleigh, as reported by OPIS.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Barrie participated in a scam that involved using stolen credit card account information to buy large quantities of cigarettes in North Carolina that would be resold in New York. Participants obtained stolen credit card data from conspirators and encoded the stolen data on the magnetic stripes of what authorities said appeared to be legitimate gift cards.

The scam was uncovered through a U.S. Secret Service investigation with the assistance of the Raleigh Police Department. Barrie was first arrested in July 2012, on state charges after an informant reported that Barrie and others tried to enlist the informant to buy gasoline on Barrie's credit card in exchange for payment. A subsequent search of Barrie and his vehicle turned up 20 cartons of cigarettes and 11 counterfeit gift cards. Then in October 2012, Barrie was stopped by Virginia State Police, who found 600 cartons of cigarettes during a search of his car.