A day-tripping visitor who went on a $20,000 Main Street shopping spree with someone else’s credit card was sentenced to two years in federal prison. Just before sentencing the prosecutor told the judge the June 2022 incident was the latest in a string of similar swindles perpetrated by the defendant.
An affidavit filed in the case by Homeland Security Investigations said defendant Demonn Chadwick Jenkins used a credit card he bought on the dark web for $15 to purchase a diamond necklace and a second-hand Rolex watch. The next day he was stopped by Customs agents while attempting to board a flight to the U.S. mainland with undeclared merchandise.
The watch and the necklace were found by Customs officers while conducting a search of Jenkins’ carry-on bag at the Cyril E. King Airport.
“He failed to declare the purchases of the jewelry on his Customs and Border Protection Declaration,” the affidavit filed by Special Agent Christopher Ramnes said.
Officials did not name the store where the offense took place in their initial report.
Initially charged with three federal offenses, Jenkins opted for a single count of aggravated identity theft on Oct. 23, 2023. In court on Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Everard Potter said the defendant, “had a long history of doing this exact same thing over and over again.”
In their presentencing report, prosecutors said aggravated identity theft called for a mandatory two-year prison term. Presiding Judge Robert Molloy sentenced the defendant to 24 months and tacked on an additional year of supervised release.
