Feds Forfeit Over $730K Associated With Stamford DoorDash Scam

STAMFORD, CT — Officials announced on Wednesday that the U.S. Attorney's Office has forfeited $736,040 associated with a DoorDash scam perpetrated by a Stamford man who was shot and killed in New York City earlier this year.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a civil forfeiture complaint against the seized money and, on April 30, the U.S. District Court granted the government’s motion for a Decree of Forfeiture.

Generally, the U.S. Attorney’s Office first forfeits the money, then returns it to the victims of the crime so they have clear title to the property without risk of further litigation.

On June 5, 2023, David Smith, of Stamford, was arrested in Mount Vernon, N.Y. by the FBI Westchester Safe Streets Task Force on a warrant out of Stamford.

Stamford Police were first tipped off to Smith in January of that year when they responded to a domestic dispute between Smith and another party at an apartment on Prospect Street and discovered stacks of cash, dozens of payment cards, and safes, Stamford police investigator Mike Stempien said at the time.

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In total, officers pulled over $736,040 in cash from the apartment, officials said, noting that a 9mm handgun with an extended magazine was also recovered.

Search warrants found that the majority of funds coming onto the payment cards were DoorDash driver payments, Stempien said. Investigators also performed search warrants on a few cell phones that belonged to Smith.

An investigation revealed that Smith was operating a scam in which he used multiple phones to place DoorDash orders for delivery, officials said.

After the order was picked up, he would contact the drivers using a spoofed number and, using social engineering," convince the drivers to hand over their DoorDash account information, officials said.

Using this information, Smith would steal the victim’s delivery money that had been pooled in their account. The cash that was seized and forfeited represents the proceeds from this scheme, according to officials.

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Smith, who was being prosecuted by the State of Connecticut, was shot and killed in New York City on Jan. 6, 2025.

If you are a DoorDash driver and your DoorDash account was compromised and drained between 2021 through 2023, you may be a victim in this case, officials said. This does not apply to individuals who placed DoorDash orders - only DoorDash drivers.

Those who believe they are victims should visit this web page or the FBI New Haven Facebook post.

There, victims of this particular scheme will find the instructions to make a petition for remission.

Should the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering Asset Recovery Unit approve a petition for remission, a driver may recoup some or all of their losses.