Greenbelt, Maryland – In a major blow to organized crime in the DC metropolitan area, Jeff Crews, the 25-year-old leader of the Simple City Criminal Organization (SCCO), was sentenced to 121 months in prison for conspiring to participate in a racketeering conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.
Crews, also known as “Fro,” was found guilty of leading the SCCO, a criminal organization based in the southeast quadrant of Washington, D.C., in a neighborhood known as “Simple City.” The organization was involved in a range of illicit activities, including vehicle theft, interstate transportation of stolen property, and aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, Crews and his conspirators, including Sylvia Price and Stefon Janey, met regularly to plan criminal activity, which netted the organization thousands of dollars in revenue. Crews and his accomplices would steal vehicles in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties, Maryland, as well as in Washington, D.C., and transport them across state lines for resale.
Crews was also found to have been involved in a string of auto thefts, thefts from autos, and commercial burglaries targeting ATM machines. He and his co-conspirators would provide stolen personal identification information and access devices to another group within the SCCO, which was led by Sylvia Price.
Price and her associates would then conduct fraudulent transactions with the stolen identification documents and access devices, netting tens of thousands of dollars in the process. Crews would receive a portion of the proceeds, which he would disperse to his fellow SCCO members.
Crews’s sentence is a significant blow to the SCCO and its leadership. On April 18, 2015, Crews, Janey, and another co-conspirator robbed a BP Gas Station in Beltsville, Maryland, stealing cash and leaving an ATM in disarray.
The total amount of money reasonably foreseeable to Crews based on his involvement in the SCCO’s activities is estimated to be between $550,000 and $1,500,000. Thirteen other defendants charged in connection with the SCCO have also pleaded guilty to their roles in the racketeering conspiracy.
Sylvia Price, the leader of the group within the SCCO that conducted the fraudulent transactions, was sentenced to 75 months in prison and ordered to pay a money judgment of $453,900. Stefon Janey, another member of the SCCO, was sentenced to 27 months in prison.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Rod J. Rosenstein, praised the efforts of law enforcement in bringing the SCCO to justice. “This case demonstrates the serious consequences of engaging in organized crime and the importance of cooperation between law enforcement agencies in bringing these cases to a successful conclusion,” he said.
Mandatory Facts: Defendant: Jeff Crews; Charges: Conspiring to participate in a racketeering conspiracy and aggravated identity theft; Location: Greenbelt, Maryland; Date: Not Specified; Sentence: 121 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release; Restitution: $1,250,000.
Related Federal Cases
- Jeff Crews, Racketeering and Aggravated ID Theft, Washington 2024 · North Carolina
- Jeff Crews, Racketeering, Maryland 2018 · North Carolina
- Jeff Crews, Racketeering Conspiracy, Maryland 2023 · Colorado
- Junior Noe Alvarado-Requeno, MS-13 Racketeering, Maryland 2022 · North Carolina
- Chinua Shepperson, Racketeering, Murder, Robbery, Firearms, Maryland 2011 · North Carolina
Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Category: Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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