ALEXANDRIA, VA – The mastermind behind a million-dollar credit card fraud scheme centered around a seemingly innocent Arlington coffee shop has finally been sentenced, bringing a multi-year investigation to a close. Adiam Berhane, 50, of Washington D.C., received a decade in federal prison for her role in the conspiracy, which involved stolen identities and a complex money laundering operation.
From at least May 2016 through October 2016, Berhane allegedly procured stolen identities of residents across the D.C. metropolitan area and beyond, using the information to manufacture fraudulent credit cards. These cards were then deployed to purchase gift cards, luxury goods, and other items from local retailers, causing “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in losses to both businesses and financial institutions, according to court documents. The operation wasn’t a smash-and-grab; it was a calculated, sustained assault on the financial system.
Berhane didn’t work alone. She recruited Tiffany Younger, 51, also of Washington D.C., and Keith Lemons, 56, of Clinton, Maryland, to act as purchasers using the fraudulent cards. The scheme extended beyond simple purchases. Victims’ credit card information was used to buy items, which were then returned for refunds deposited into bank accounts controlled by Berhane. But the most brazen element of the fraud involved Berhane’s business, Caffe Aficionado in Arlington, Virginia. A suspicious pattern of American Express gift card redemptions – beginning several months before the shop even opened in approximately October 2013 – accounted for more than a third of the coffee shop’s income between June 2013 and July 2016.
Following a jury trial in December 2022, Berhane was convicted on a litany of charges: conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, trafficking in unauthorized access devices, aggravated identity theft, unlawful possession of 15 or more access devices, and possession of access device-making equipment with intent to defraud. The evidence painted a clear picture of a deliberate and extensive criminal enterprise. The other conspirators faced lesser penalties. Lemons, 56, received time served plus six months of home confinement. Younger, 51, was sentenced to two years of probation.
U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia, alongside Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division, and Arlington County Chief of Police Andy Penn, announced the sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. The successful prosecution was a collaborative effort involving the Montgomery County Police Department, the FBI Cyber Task Force, the U.S. Postal Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Secret Service, and the U.S. Capitol Police.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bibeane Metsch and Jonathan S. Keim spearheaded the case, meticulously building a case that exposed the intricate web of fraud. While the sentences have been handed down, the case serves as a stark reminder of the ever-present threat of financial crime and the lengths to which criminals will go to exploit vulnerabilities in the system, even hiding in plain sight behind the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.
Related Federal Cases
- Travis Lee, Credit Card Fraud, MD 2024 · West Virginia
- Alvin Serry, Credit Card Fraud, Maryland 2024 · Maryland
- Odere Suleitopa, Credit Card Fraud, Maryland 2024 · South Carolina
- Sunyu Qian, Gift Card & Formula Fraud, Virginia 2024 · Maryland
- Washington Lee, Card Fraud, Maryland 2024 · West Virginia
Key Facts
- Agency: U.S. Secret Service
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Press Release
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