Delanio Vick, Teresa Gallop, Jessie Davis Charged with ID Theft, Virginia 2016

Grimy Times Exclusive: In a shocking case of identity theft, three individuals have been charged with allegedly swindling inmates in local jails.

Delanio Vick, 31, and Teresa Gallop, 49, of Norfolk, and Jessie Davis, 20, of Portsmouth, were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, making false statements in an application to a federally insured institution, and aggravated identity theft.

According to the indictment, these individuals conspired to obtain the personal property and identifying information of inmates housed in local jails. Conspirators inside the jails recruited inmates to retain the services of a fictitious legal services company, FamUnited, also known as Famm United or FamilyTranzitions.

Conspirators posed as paralegals during recorded jail calls with these inmates. During these calls, conspirators falsely promised to help the inmates obtain bonds in exchange for the release of their personal property from the jails’ custody. Some inmates agreed to release their property as instructed. For those who did not, conspirators submitted forged property release forms to the jail authorizing the release of inmate property to other conspirators.

After obtaining inmate property, including wallets and cell phones, conspirators accessed and opened bank accounts in the inmates’ names. In some cases, conspirators created forged durable powers of attorney that purported to authorize them to act on the inmates’ behalf. Conspirators used these documents to add themselves as authorized users to the inmates’ existing bank accounts.

Conspirators then used the compromised and newly created bank accounts to conduct fraudulent transactions, including worthless deposits and unauthorized withdrawals, through which they obtained money, goods, and services.

Those who believe they may have information regarding this case are encouraged to contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 804-418-6104.

The defendants were initially indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 16, 2016. The superseding indictment returned yesterday includes additional charges. The defendants each face a mandatory minimum penalty of two years in prison to run consecutive to a maximum possibly penalty of 30 years in prison.

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