NORFOLK, Va. — A Norfolk man was sentenced to over 10 years in prison for having illegal firearms, as well as committing fraud and identity theft, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday.
According to the DOJ, 24-year-old Damarco Antonio Smith had at least nine illegal firearms, committed credit union fraud, and caused financial harm to approximately 34 identity theft victims.
The DOJ said Smith, a documented gang member, worked with at least three fellow gang members to commit bank fraud in Norfolk and on the Peninsula by negotiating stolen and counterfeit checks. This started in or around 2018 and lasted through March 2020.
Smith also stole credit cards and other personal information, which was used to clone fraudulent debit and credit cards.
When investigators executed search warrants at two residences, they recovered dozens of stolen, fraudulent, and blank cards, along with access device-making equipment like credit card readers, encoders, printers, and laptops.
Around the same time the fraud offenses happened, Smith was caught with at least nine illegal handguns, including weapons with large-capacity magazines.
He bought at least four from federally licensed gun stores by lying about not being an unlawful user of controlled substances. He also lied on his application for a concealed weapons permit.
On March 29, 2020, Smith was in a gunfight where one of his associates was shot in the back and paralyzed.
He and fellow gang members took the injured person to a hospital, dropped him at the emergency room, and tried to speed off. Police stopped their vehicle and recovered two firearms, including one that belonged to Smith.
