Convict Appeals 12-Year Sentence for Stealing $20,000 From Florida CU

A 43-year-old Florida man appealed a 12-year prison sentence for stealing $20,000 from a Jacksonville branch of the $2.5 billion Community First Credit Union.

Damien Deshaun Dennis was sentenced Nov. 30 after pleading guilty to one felony count of bank fraud and one felony count of aggravated identity theft.

Dennis’ defense attorney asked Chief U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Corrigan in Jacksonville to impose a five-and-a-half-year sentence. But based on a recommendation from prosecutors for a stiffer sentence because of Dennis’ long criminal history, Judge Corrigan rendered a 144-month prison sentence.

Dennis’ attorney filed a notice of appeal on Dec. 7 to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, which indicated Dennis’ sentence was above the federal sentencing guidelines and other legal issues.

For comparison, former credit union CEOs who embezzled millions of dollars and concealed their crimes for years have received lighter sentences than Dennis. Kam Wong, former CEO of Municipal Credit Union in New York, for example, was sentenced in 2019 to five and a half years for embezzling nearly $10 million, and in 2014, Alex Spirikaitis, former CEO of the Taupa Lithuanian Credit Union in Cleveland embezzled $4.2 million and enabled his coconspirators to steal $15 million and was sentenced to 10 years.

The only difference, however, was that these ex-executives were not ex-cons with criminal histories, which factored into Dennis’ sentence. To be clear, these prior embezzlement cases were not included in his appeal.

In court documents, federal prosecutors argued that a sentence at or near the statutory maximum of 32 years in this case would be reasonable and supported by a review of Dennis’ history of unrelenting criminal conduct – much of it involving fraud – and the brazen, in-person nature of his recent criminal conduct during the CFCU incidents.

“Nevertheless, the United States does not seek such a sentence but instead requests a sentence of at least 12 years in prison in this case,” prosecutors wrote in court documents. “A 12-year sentence in this case is well below the statutory maximum and would serve to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant.”

Using a phony South Carolina driver’s license and fraudulent documents, such as a Social Security card of another person, Dennis fraudulently opened an account at CFCU on Aug. 9, 2021, according to federal prosecutors. On that same day, he completed a personal loan application for $20,000, which the credit union approved. Dennis then made a cash withdrawal of $20,000 and left the branch.

A month later, he went to a different CFCU branch and attempted to open an account using the personal ID of another person. After presenting a fake Pennsylvania driver’s license and a fraudulent utility bill, CFCU employees became suspicious and called the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, prosecutors said.

When the responding officer was talking to Dennis, he fled on foot. Numerous JSO units chased him for about 20 minutes before he was captured and arrested. The investigation also determined later that Dennis attempted to commit the same fraud scheme on two other occasions, according to court documents.