A Norfolk man will serve nearly a year behind bars after racking up thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges at a local Home Depot.
Daniel John O’Neil, 28, pleaded guilty Tuesday to four felony charges tied to a weeklong spending spree using a stolen company credit card. Between November 7 and 13 of last year, O’Neil made nearly a dozen purchases at the Home Depot on North Military Highway, totaling $7,314 — all without the knowledge or permission of the company that owned the card.
Here’s how it unfolded.
The card belonged to a local contracting company and had been issued to an employee who was fired shortly before the charges started showing up. That former employee reported the card stolen — but it turns out O’Neil, who never worked for the company, was the one using it.
The company initially suspected their former employee and called Chesapeake Police. Investigators pulled surveillance footage from Home Depot locations in Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, and Norfolk. That’s where they spotted O’Neil and another person making the purchases. Once the company realized the fraud happened at the Norfolk location, the case shifted to Norfolk Police.
On Tuesday, O’Neil took a plea deal, admitting guilt to credit card fraud, credit card theft, and conspiring to commit both crimes. Under the agreement, he’ll serve 10 months in jail. He was also sentenced to another three years and two months in prison, but that time was suspended on several conditions: completing a residential substance abuse treatment program, five years of good behavior, and supervised probation.
Judge Devon R. Paige signed off on the deal, which was in line with state sentencing guidelines.
“Quick work by the victim companies and the Norfolk and Chesapeake Police, plus surveillance cameras, have allowed us to hold Mr. O’Neil accountable for his crimes against the credit-card holder and the retailer whom he defrauded,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Stealing is wrong, no matter the method or the excuse, and I hope that Mr. O’Neil makes use of the resources available in custody and on probation to avoid this kind of behavior in the future.”
This case highlights how fast collaboration between businesses and law enforcement — plus a good camera system — can bring about a swift resolution in cases of financial crime.