D.C. National Guardsman Allegedly Used Stolen Cards to Buy Army Exchange Luxury Goods

Four Army National Guard members from the Washington area are accused of using Bitcoin to buy stolen credit and debit card numbers from foreign websites. The suspects allegedly then re-encoded plastic cards with their own names using the stolen numbers, and then fraudulently bought items at Army and Air Force Exchange Service stores on military bases and elsewhere for use and resale.

The Guard members charged are: Derrick K. Shelton II, 28, of Washington, D.C.; James C. Stewart III, 25, of District Heights; and Quentin T. Stewart, 28, of Parkville.

A fourth national guardsman, Vincent Anthony Grant, 27, of Laurel, was also indicted in a separate case involving a similar fraud scheme. The indictments were returned on May 9, and unsealed May 20 following the arrests of the defendants.

Shelton, James Stewart and Grant were specialists, and Quentin Stewart was a former sergeant, all in the District of Columbia Army National Guard.

The accused allegedly sought out stolen numbers from individuals and businesses with federal credit union accounts, and those with billing addresses in or near Maryland. The men reportedly bought magnetic strip card-encoding devices and software to re-encode credit, debit and other cards with the stolen credit and debit card numbers.

The defendants are charged with using the re-encoded cards to buy gift cards, electronic items, and luxury goods, from Army and Air Force Exchange stores on military bases, and other locations in Maryland and elsewhere.