Germantown Man Sentenced for Credit Card Fraud

A Germantown man was sentenced Friday to 42 months in prison for his involvement in a credit card scheme.

U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced David Garth Thompson II, 31, for being a felon in possession of a firearm, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, according U.S. Department of Justice officials.

As part of the scheme, Thompson and four other co-conspirators stole credit cards from parked vehicles in Bethesda, Boyds and Germantown, and used the stolen cards to buy electronics and other merchandise. Prosecutors estimate that the scheme racked up between $120,000 and $200,000 in unauthorized purchases between April 2007 and October 2009, according to documents from the U.S. States Attorney’s office.

Thompson was also ordered to pay restitution of $39,960 and serve five years of supervised release, prosecutors said in a press release.

Co-conspirator Larry Angel Jerez, 28, pleaded guilty Friday to access device fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft in connection with his participation in the scheme.

Judge Chasanow has scheduled Jerez’s sentencing for 10 a.m. Sept. 13. 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, prosecutors said in a press release.

Darvis Orlando Dingle, 48, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 42 months in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to the release.

Julia Abreu, age 35, of Tucker, Ga., and Mohammad Sallah, age 54, of Montgomery Village, pleaded guilty to their participation in the scheme. Abreu is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 5. Sallah was sentenced to 27 months in prison for his participation in the scheme, according to the release.

According to documents from the U.S. States Attorney’s office, video footage captured by retail stores showed the five co-conspirators using stolen cards to make purchases and include:

• On September 23, 2007, a woman reported that she had credit cards stolen from her vehicle while it was parked at the Germantown Soccerplex in Boyds. A co-conspirator used the woman’s American Express card at a Target in Germantown on Sept. 29, 2007, to purchase of a Sony PlayStation 3 a Dyson vacuum in the amount of $1,048.94.
• On Sept. 25, 2007, a woman reported the theft of several credit cards, likely at the Cabin John Ice Skating Rink in Bethesda, where she left her purse in her car. A co-conspirator used the credit cards at a Target store in Germantown to make purchases in the amount of $656.23, and to purchase a camcorder at a Best Buy in Germantown in the amount of $1,574.99.
• On Oct. 10, 2007, a man reported his BB&T credit card was stolen and used at a Pep Boys in Germantown, at a McDonalds in Germantown, and to purchase car stereo head units in the amount of $356.98 at Circuit City.
• On April 1, 2008, a woman reported the theft of two of her credit cards, which a co-conspirator used at a Best Buy in Sterling, Va., to purchase a Mac computer.
• in the amount of $2,939.99 and a Canon camera at a Best Buy in Reston, Va., for a purchase in the amount of $99.72.
• On May 10, 2008, video shows that Sallah used a stolen Target National Bank credit card for a purchase at the Circuit City in Glen Allen, Va., in the amount of $1,469.99, but the charge was declined. The same stolen Target National Bank credit card was used at the Target Store in Glen Allen, Va., on May 10, 2008, while Sallah was at the register with Thompson.
• On Nov. 6, 2008, a woman reported the theft of her GE Money Bank credit card. Prosecutors allege that Jerez and Abreu used the card at a Sam’s Club store in Laurel, Md., and at a Nordstrom store in Columbia, Md., to buy items worth more than $1,000.