Identity theft ring In early 2010, a joint FBI and Federal Bureau of Prisons investigation found that Dimorio McDowell (50711–019), an inmate at FCI Fort Dix, was operating a major
identity theft ring from the prison. Eight co-conspirators, with whom McDowell communicated by telephone, were also arrested. The ring targeted credit cards issued by major chain stores such as Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Staples, Home Depot, Lowes and others. McDowell and his co-conspirators obtained the personal information of credit card holders through customer service departments and added themselves as authorized users. When McDowell's co-conspirators went to make purchases, they showed false identification or provided the last four digits of the cardholder's Social Security number and charged high-end items such as a John Deere tractor, big-screen televisions, snow blowers and stoves. The companies that issued the cards, including Citigroup Financial, HSBC and GE Capital, lost between $500,000 and $1 million. McDowell subsequently pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit
wire fraud and
bank fraud and was sentenced to 14 additional years in prison on January 18, 2011. McDowell is currently incarcerated at the
United States Penitentiary in
Atlanta, which has a
Communication Management Unit, where inmate contact with the outside world is severely restricted and tightly monitored. He is scheduled for release in 2028. ==Notable inmates (current and former)==