The Heartbreaker Hustle: Credit Union Members Caught in Conman’s Web

The Heartbreaker Hustle: Credit Union Members Caught in Conman’s Web

NORFOLK, VA – March 26, 2025 – Imagine falling for a charming suitor, only to discover he’s not just after your heart, but your credit score too. That’s the sad reality 11 women and several credit unions faced at the hands of one heartbreaking Romeo convicted last Friday. by a federal jury on 19 charges, including bank fraud, wire fraud, and identity theft. For credit unions, a lesson to tighten lending, for members a reminder, romance shouldn’t come with a loan application.”

40-year-old Dion Lamont Camp’s scheme was as bold as it was heartless. Over years, he wooed women into relationships, spinning sob stories about frozen accounts and promising repayment once his “IRS troubles” cleared. Armed with fake tax documents and a silver tongue, he convinced his victims to secure fraudulent auto loans and credit cards, raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars from unsuspecting credit unions and banks.

Take the case of six auto loans Camp orchestrated between 2020 and 2022 through a national credit union. Some were “ghost purchases”, cars that never existed, leaving the credit union with no collateral.

Others were “double financed,” with Camp pocketing loan proceeds from both the credit union and dealerships for luxury vehicles like BMWs. To pull it off, he set up shell companies mimicking real Hampton Roads dealerships and enlisted women, identified only as Jane Does, to open business accounts and apply for loans in their names.

The scam didn’t stop there. Camp spoofed phone calls to impersonate dealership staff, provided fake vehicle identification numbers (VINs), and tricked credit unions into releasing funds. Two women even traded in their own cars to fund his loans, only for Camp to sell them and keep the cash.

“It’s a betrayal that hits both emotionally and financially,” said a credit union spokesperson, reflecting on the losses.

But Camp’s greed knew no bounds. He conned two women into securing over $100,000 in double-financed luxury cars from a northern Virginia dealership, cashed their credit union checks, and left the institution empty-handed. He even faked a decade-long career at UPS to snag financing for a CarMax purchase, later lying about his employment from jail to dodge repossession.

Heartbreaker Heists: Credit Union Members Caught in Conman’s Web
Mugshot of Dion Lamont Camp | Courtesy Western Tidewater Regional Jail

Personal loans? Credit cards? Camp hit those too. He supplied fake paystubs to inflate incomes for two women applying to a local credit union, then pocketed the proceeds. He also hijacked one victim’s identity for an American Express card and used another’s Social Security number to rack up charges. Even a rental property application was a lie, complete with a fabricated credit score and a sham house-flipping business.

The fallout? Hundreds of thousands in losses for credit unions and banks, plus shattered trust for the women caught in his web.

Camp was convicted of by a federal jury on 19 charges, including bank fraud, wire fraud, and identity theft. Facing up to 392 years in prison, though likely far less under federal guidelines, his sentencing is set for September 12.

For credit unions, it’s a costly lesson in tightening loan verification. For members, it’s a reminder: if a deal, or a date, seems too good to be true, it just might be.

Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia

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