NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Damier Dorsey, a 29-year-old Newport News resident, was sentenced today to nine years and 11 months in prison for orchestrating a credit card fraud and identity theft operation that impacted thousands and resulted in losses exceeding $1.5 million.
Court records reveal that beginning in 2017, Dorsey, alongside co-conspirators, engaged in fraudulent activities by purchasing identity theft victims’ account information from the darknet, notably from sites like “BriansClub.” They manipulated this information onto cards they held, using them to make unauthorized transactions.
Dorsey’s criminal activities included buying cartons of cigarettes for resale to local businesses and eventually escalated to buying items for resale and purchasing lottery tickets to launder money. In one instance, on April 14, 2018, they spent over $2,700 at Toys “R” Us for goods they tried selling on Facebook Marketplace, in addition to withdrawing cash from ATMs and buying lottery tickets with the counterfeit cards.
The scheme’s perpetrators, who also dabbled in music under the group “$wipaG@ng,” even flaunted their illegal exploits in a music video. When stopped by the Virginia State Police on August 2, 2018, Dorsey was found with a credit card embossing machine, numerous partially imprinted credit cards, and over $23,000 in cash. A subsequent search of his home uncovered more re-encoded credit cards, equipment used in their operations, and evidence of lottery winnings.
Dorsey’s guilty plea on September 11, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, culminates a wide-reaching investigation into the extensive fraud operation he led.