Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced David Garth Thompson II, age 31, of Germantown, Maryland, today to 42 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme in which credit cards were stolen from cars parked in public places, including locations in Bethesda, Boyds and Germantown, Maryland, and used to buy merchandise at retail stores in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. In addition, co-conspirator Larry Angel Jerez, age 28, pleaded guilty today to access device fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft in connection with his participation in the scheme. Judge Chasanow also ordered Thompson to pay restitution of $39,960.
The sentencing and guilty plea were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein, Special Agent in Charge David Beach of the United States Secret Service – Washington Field Office; and Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department.
According to Thompson and Jerez’s plea agreements, from 2007 to October 2009 Thompson, Jerez, Darvis Dingle, Julia Abreu and Mohammad Sallah stole credit cards from cars parked in public places and used the stolen cards to buy electronics and other merchandise at retail stores. Thompson and others would keep what they had purchased using the stolen credit cards, or sell the merchandise for personal profit.
On November 6, 2008, Jerez used a stolen credit card to make purchases at a Sam’s Club store located in Laurel, Maryland and at a Nordstrom store in Columbia, Maryland. Jerez’s criminal activity was extensive, including the theft of credit cards in the names of other individuals and the making of unauthorized purchases at retail establishments in Maryland, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio and New Jersey.
As a result of the scheme, Thompson and Jerez each caused a loss from the unauthorized purchases of between $120,000 and $200,000.
Additionally, Thompson’s home was searched on November 17, 2009 and a revolver was seized. Thompson was previously convicted in October 2004 in federal court in the District of Columbia for bank fraud and other related offenses and was under the supervision of U.S. Parole and Probation for those crimes while he engaged in this fraud scheme. His previous conviction prohibited him from possessing the gun found at his home.
Jerez faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the access device fraud conspiracy and a mandatory minimum of two years in prison consecutive to any other sentence for aggravated identity theft. Judge Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for September 13, 2011 at 10:00 a.m.
Darvis Orlando Dingle, age 48, of Washington, D.C. was sentenced to 42 months in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Dingle was previously convicted in federal court in the District of Columbia for distributing drugs, served his 30 month sentence in prison and was on supervised release while he engaged in this fraud scheme. Julia Abreu, age 35, of Tucker, Georgia, and Mohammad Sallah, age 54, of Montgomery Village, Maryland, pleaded guilty to their participation in the scheme. Abreu is scheduled to be sentenced on August 5, 2011. Sallah was sentenced to 27 months in prison for his participation in the scheme.
