Jeff Crews, ‘Fro,’ Gets 10+ Years for Racketeering, ID Theft

Jeff Crews, a/k/a “Fro,” age 25, of Washington, D.C., is headed to federal prison for over a decade after being sentenced to 121 months for leading the Simple City Criminal Organization (SCCO) in a sweeping racketeering conspiracy and aggravated identity theft ring. U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel handed down the sentence in Greenbelt, Maryland, ordering Crews to serve more than 10 years behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release. The court also imposed a forfeiture and restitution order totaling $1,250,000.

Crews, the ringleader of the SCCO, operated out of the southeast quadrant of D.C., known on the streets as “Simple City,” where the gang coordinated a criminal enterprise spanning years—from at least 2009 to July 2015. Alongside co-conspirators Sylvia Price and Stefon Janey, Crews orchestrated a network of vehicle thefts, interstate trafficking of stolen property, ATM smash-and-grabs, and large-scale identity fraud. The gang profited through stolen access devices and personal identification, funneling illicit gains back into their operations.

According to his plea agreement, Crews and SCCO members routinely stole vehicles in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties, Maryland, and in Washington, D.C. These vehicles became tools in crime sprees: used to break into cars, hit commercial properties, and rip ATMs from walls. Once the vehicles were burned out from their criminal use, the SCCO shipped them across state lines for resale. The operation was slick, mobile, and relentless.

The identity theft arm of the SCCO was just as methodical. Crews and others passed stolen IDs and access devices to a faction led by Sylvia Price, a/k/a “Deez Nuts,” 50, of Suitland, Maryland. Price’s crew turned stolen data into cold cash through fraudulent transactions across Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. She skimmed off the top and funneled proceeds back to Crews, who doled out payouts to the foot soldiers who pulled off the thefts.

One violent example stands out: on April 18, 2015, Crews served as getaway driver while Janey and another accomplice stormed a BP Gas Station in Beltsville, Maryland. Armed with a crowbar, they smashed into the vestibule, threatened an employee at knifepoint, stole cash and a phone, then pried open the ATM and fled with the loot. Their ride? A gray Acura MDX stolen weeks earlier in Prince George’s County. The damage was more than physical—it was systemic.

All 14 defendants tied to the SCCO racketeering case have now pleaded guilty. Sylvia Price was sentenced to 75 months and ordered to pay $453,900 in restitution, forfeiting 101 luxury handbags, 45 debit cards, and stacks of gift, credit, and gas cards. Stefon Janey, a/k/a “Stef” and “Stef Luva,” 23, of Marlow Heights, Maryland, got 27 months. Three others received sentences between 27 and 43 months. The remaining nine defendants are awaiting sentencing. The financial loss tied to the conspiracy? Between $550,000 and $1.5 million—foreseeable, federal prosecutors say, to Crews as the leader.

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