Man Pleads Guilty To Fraud Scheme Targeting Navy Servicemembers

The U.S. Attorney's Office Eastern District of Virginia released the below information:

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud Navy Federal Credit Union and its members out of money and property.

According to court documents, from approximately April to August 2021, Samari Smith, 20, conspired with at least four other people to commit credit union fraud by convincing account holders to withdraw and turnover funds to them under false pretenses. Smith and his coconspirators targeted sailors in the United States Navy on online dating applications like Tinder by posing as women interested in a romantic relationship. Smith and his co-conspirators asked the victimized Sailors to withdraw and turnover funds – often under the guise of helping a relative in the Navy who was trying to send them money. 

Samari Smith was directly involved in defrauding four Sailors in the Navy who were then stationed in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, which caused more than $40,000 in fraud losses to these victims. Two co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty, including the leader of the conspiracy, Trequan Smith, 21, of Hampton and Emani Burton, 23, also of Hampton. The broader fraud conspiracy orchestrated by Trequan Smith victimized dozens of Sailors in the Navy and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars of fraud loss.

Samari Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on January 27, 2023. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. Trequan Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. He faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison and a maximum penalty of 32 years in prison. Burton pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and was sentenced to a term of one day of incarceration and three years of supervised release.  

Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Tira A. Hayward, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Washington Division; and Frederick Franks, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen accepted the plea.

This case was investigated under the leadership and coordination of the Newport News Financial Crimes Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Mack Coleman is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 4:22-cr-56, 4:21-cr-67, and 4:21-cr-68.

Guantanamo Detainee Pleads Guilty To Supporting Terrorist Organizations

By Cheryl Pellerin, American Forces Press Service

NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, Feb. 15, 2011 - Accused terrorist training camp instructor Noor Uthman Muhammed pleaded guilty here today to charges of supporting and conspiring with international terrorist organizations against the United States.

Behind barbed wire and a dense network of sturdy orange barriers and in accordance with a pretrial agreement, the native of Sudan admitted to activities that could lead to his imprisonment for life.

Noor, as he has asked to be called in court, will be sentenced at a hearing this week before members of a military commission.

(Navy Capt. John Murphy, chief prosecutor for the Office of Military Commissions, briefs reporters after the Feb. 15, 2011, trial of Noor Uthman Muhammed at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba in the above DOD photo by Cheryl Pellerin).

"The prosecution is very pleased with the entry of the guilty plea by Noor this morning," Navy Capt. John Murphy, chief prosecutor for the Office of Military Commissions, told reporters after the trial. "We believe it is another step in the justice that we are achieving in the commission cases."

The commission now has resolved six cases to date, including Noor's, all of which have resulted in convictions after trial or pleas of guilty, Murphy said.

Noor's traditional white Muslim garb was covered with a dark blue jacket. Covering his head was a small white cap. He wore headphones through which an interpreter conveyed the words of the trial judge, Navy Capt. Moira Modzelewski.

Noor pleaded guilty to the first charge against him, which included the following:

-- Acting as a weapons instructor at the Khaldan terrorist training camp in Afghanistan, and between 1996 and 2000 instructing terrorist trainees on topics that included small arms and artillery;

-- Serving on the Khaldan camp's leadership council, called a shura, and acting as the camp's deputy emir, or commander;

-- As deputy emir, overseeing the camp's daily operations, including training and acquiring food and supplies.

The second charge held that, between August 1996 and March 2002, Noor conspired with al-Qaida and others to commit "one or more substantive offenses triable by military commission." Noor pleaded guilty to this charge, but he denied some of the elements in it, including attacking civilians, murder in violation of the law of war and destruction of property in violation of the law of war.

The guilty plea is the "strongest form of evidence known to the law," Modzelewski told Noor, and she said she would use the plea to determine his guilt and the commission would use it to decide on his sentence.

When answering in the affirmative, Noor softly answered, "Na'am," the Arabic word for yes. He answered most of the judge's questions this way, resting in his chair and laboring to his feet slowly when asked to rise.

Noor's defense team included Howard Cabot, Navy Cmdr. Katie Doxakis, Army Maj. Amy Fitzgibbons and Navy Capt. Chris Kannady.

The prosecution team consisted of Air Force Lt. Col. Kenneth Sachs, Marine Corps Maj. James Weirick, Marine Corps Maj. Glen Hines, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Arthur Gaston, Army Maj. Daniel Cowhig and two assistant U.S. attorneys representing the Justice Department, James Trump and Mikeal Clayton.

Noor's is the last case the military commissions office is free to prosecute, Murphy said. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder designated three other suspected terrorists to be prosecuted in military commissions rather than in civilian criminal courts, he said: Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, the alleged mastermind behind the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole; Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al Darbi, brother-in-law of Khalid al Mihdhar, whose hijacked Flight 77 hit the Pentagon on 9/11; and suspected al-Qaida member Obaidullah.

The three have not been charged yet, and Murphy said the military commissions office is awaiting authorization to proceed or not from Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

In all military commissions, a panel of military officers, called "members," determines the sentence when there is a finding of guilt, Defense Department spokeswoman Army Lt. Col. Tanya Bradsher said today.

At a hearing scheduled for Feb. 16, the defense and prosecution will have a chance to present evidence and arguments before the members determine a sentence.

The terms of Noor's pretrial agreement are not disclosed to the members and will be made public after the sentence is announced.

The Guantanamo Bay detention center is operated by the U.S. government's Joint Task Force Guantanamo. The facility was established in 2002.