Fraud ring stole accounts to buy wheel rims, clothes, dog
A ring of identity thieves tricked people into giving out their banking information, then siphoned funds from their unsuspecting victims and spent over half a million dollars in shopping sprees.
The scammers shopped at Victoria's Secret and the Apple Store, Nordstrom and Miky's Wig. They bought automobile rims, Gucci products and even paid a Lithonia pet store $1,500 for a Dachshund.
Somehow, they'll have to pay it all back -- after they get out of prison or free of home confinement.
Eight members of the ring have pleaded guilty or been convicted in federal court on charges of fraud or conspiracy.
Ring leader Diyiana Clay Damayo, 29, of Douglasville, was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release, said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates.
According to Yates, the scam worked like this: the ring preyed on immigrants on the West Coast, calling them to say they owed money on telephone or utility bills and requesting payment. The victims often complied, providing banking information over the phone that the criminals used to order blank checks and to get themselves and others named as authorized users on credit card accounts.
They then cashed forged checks or went shopping with the credit cards, Yates said.
In addition to Damayo, four other ring members were sentenced Thursday, according to Yates: Sharell Lashell Slaughter, 23, of New Hope, Minn. (28 months in prison); Aaron Joel Brunson, 26, of Atlanta (eight months of home confinement); Cathleen Suzann Cain, 28, of Atlanta (eight months in prison), and Chelethia Lashun Wright, 22, of Lawrenceville (six months of home confinement).
Two others -- Jabrineka Nicole Redmon, 21, of Atlanta, and Otis Louis Allen 3rd, 26, of Loganville -- were sentenced in September, and Latia Javelle Crane, 28, of Atlanta has not yet been sentenced.
A ninth defendant, Myisha Shawnette Coleman, 24, of Atlanta, was a fugitive until her arrest on New Year's Day, and has not yet been to trial. She faces 30 counts of mail fraud, three of aggravated identity theft and one of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
In addition to the temporal sentences, the convicts were ordered to pay restitution. Damayo was ordered to pay over $577,000, and the rest were ordered to pay sums ranging from $10,000 to $74,000.
About the Author
Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.
