FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
July 19, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PREVIOUSLY CONVICTED DRUG DEALER SENTENCED TO 3 ½ YEARS
FOR CREDIT CARD SCAM
Stole Credit Cards from Cars to Purchase Merchandise
Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Darvis Orlando Dingle, age 47, of Washington, D.C., today to 42 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit 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. Judge Chasanow also entered a restitution order against Dingle in the amount of $33,941.96.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Irvine of the United States Secret Service – Washington Field Office; and Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department.
According to Dingle’s plea agreement, from September 2007 to October 2009, Dingle, David Thompson and others stole credit cards from cars parked in public places and used the stolen cards to buy electronics and other merchandise at retail stores. To make their detection by law enforcement more difficult, Dingle and his co-conspirators rented cars in their names and the names of others which they drove in the course of the fraud scheme. Dingle and others would keep what they had purchased using the stolen credit cards, or sell the merchandise for personal profit.
Dingle was arrested on October 8, 2009. Dingle caused a loss of approximately $34,000 to more than 10 financial institutions from the unauthorized purchases.
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.
David Garth Thompson II, age 30, of Germantown, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy, aggravated identity theft and being a felon in possession of a gun. Thompson is scheduled to be sentenced on September 20, 2010.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorneys Sandra Wilkinson and Mara B. Zusman, who prosecuted the case.