Washington, D.C. Man Sentenced to 60 Months for $180,000 Credit Card Fraud
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Darryl Garte Wise, 47, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 60 months in prison, followed by six years of supervised release, for stealing credit card numbers from guests of an upscale Washington, D.C., hotel and using those numbers to obtain more than $180,000 over a 14-month period. Wise will also forfeit the contents of three bank accounts and will pay $183,039 in restitution to 13 financial institutions and retailers.
Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and David Beach, Special Agent in Charge for the United States Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. Wise pled guilty on Aug. 23, 2012, to one count of credit card fraud and one count of mail fraud.
According to the statement of facts filed with Wise’s plea agreement, Wise stole customer credit card numbers from an upscale hotel in Washington, D.C., and used those stolen credit card numbers to place telephone orders with high-end retailers including Brooks Brothers, Restoration Hardware, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Williams-Sonoma. Wise had the merchandise shipped to various addresses in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Northern Virginia, using at least 29 aliases. After exchanging the merchandise at a retail location in the D.C. metro area and obtaining a new receipt bearing his personal debit card number, Wise would then return the merchandise for a full credit to his personal debit card. Between Sept. 22, 2010, and Nov.18, 2011, Wise used more than 150 stolen credit card numbers, including credit card numbers belonging to three federal judges, to obtain more than $180,000.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay A. Kelly.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.
