Editor’s Note: See, Cigarette Smuggling and Cyber Security: Low-Tech Crimes Fund High-Tech Threats.
From: US Department of Justice/U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia
Ringleader Sentenced in Credit Card Fraud and ID Theft Scheme
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 |
