NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Federal prosecutors say a 29-year-old Brazilian citizen has pleaded guilty in New Orleans in connection with an identity theft scheme involving credit card skimmers.

A Tuesday news release from the U.S. Attorney's office says Andre Lion Goncalves Pereira  pleaded guilty last week to aggravated identity theft. Pereira was among a group of Brazilian nationals arrested at a New Orleans hotel last August.

Prosecutors say federal and state officers found them in possession of re-encoded credit cards and equipment that included ATM skimmers. Sentencing for Pereira was set for Sept. 12.

He faces a mandatory two-year prison sentence.