Ringleader Sentenced in Credit Card Scam

Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Larry Angel Jerez, age 35, today to 66 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for access device fraud conspiracy 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 ordered Jerez to pay restitution of $29,602.78.

The sentencing was 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 his plea agreement and court documents, from 2007 to October 2009 Jerez and his co-conspirators David Thompson, 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, Jerez caused a loss from the unauthorized purchases of $29,602.78.

David Garth Thompson II, age 31, of Germantown, Maryland, and Darvis Orlando Dingle, age 48, of Washington, D.C. were each sentenced to 42 months in prison for their participation in the scheme. 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. Mohammad Sallah, age 55, of Montgomery Village, Maryland and Julia Abreu, age 36, of Tucker, Georgia, also pleaded guilty to their participation in the scheme and were sentenced to 27 months in prison, and five months and a day in prison followed by seven months of home detention, respectively.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorneys Sandra Wilkinson and Mara Zusman Greenberg, who prosecuted the case.