ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A Portsmouth man was sentenced today to nine years in prison for his role as a ringleader in a credit card fraud and identity theft scheme.
According to court documents, Travon Williams, 33, organized and led a conspiracy where over two and a half years, members purchased thousands of stolen credit and debit card numbers from blackmarket websites, encoded those stolen numbers onto fraudulent credit cards, and then used those cards to buy merchandise including gift cards and cartons of cigarettes.
During the conspiracy, the group made hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from selling cigarette cartons to buyers from New York City, who drove down to Northern Virginia to transport the cigarettes. Williams himself obtained $415,000 in proceeds.
Williams is one of 12 defendants who was arrested in this case in August 2017, all of whom have pleaded guilty for their roles in this scheme. Co-defendant Rodriguez Norman has also pleaded guilty to participating in an organized dog-fighting conspiracy. Williams is the sixth defendant to be sentenced, as shown below:
Name, Age
Hometown
Convictions
Sentence
Travon Williams, 33
Portsmouth
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, Conspiracy to Traffic in Contraband Cigarettes, Aggravated Identity Theft
108 months
Jamar Johnson, 31
Portsmouth
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft
84 months
Ashley Carrillo Howell, 34
Bowie, Maryland
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft
70 months
Ronnie Beale, 33
Fort Washington, Maryland
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud
14 months
Ryan McNeil, 32
District Heights, Maryland
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud
14 months
Denae Horton, 25
Chesapeake
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud
2 months
Eugene Cuffee, 34
Norfolk
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud
February 2
Nathaneal Williams, 25
Manassas
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, Conspiracy to Traffic in Contraband Cigarettes, Aggravated Identity Theft
February 16
Gentle Tyson, III, 33
Virginia Beach
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft
February 23
Rodriguez Norman, 31
Temple Hills, Maryland
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, Conspiracy to Traffic in Contraband Cigarettes, Aggravated Identity Theft; &
Conspiracy to Engage in an Animal Fighting Venture
March 16
Marvin Mitchell, 33
Virginia Beach
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft
March 23
Ebony Coe, 29
Virginia Beach
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft
March 23
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maya D. Song, Whitney Russell, and Katherine Rumbaugh prosecuted the case.
The Manassas Park Police, Fairfax County Police, and Arlington County Police provided significant assistance during this investigation.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 1:17-cr-214, 226, 227, 240, 252, 251, 254, 312.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
