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Authorities in New York indicted ten people accused of running a $750,000 identity theft ring that involved stealing credit cards from people's mail.
Prosecutors said that the alleged ringleader, 37-year-old Michael Richards, recruited postal workers from Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Burke, Virginia, and asked them to steal credit cards from the mail instead of delivering them.
The postal workers were identified as Bruce Bienvenu, Curquan Highsmith, Kenneth Freeman, and Kennisha Murrell.
They were all paid different amounts of money based on how much Richards could make from the stolen credit cards. Officials said that 38-year-old Shamar Haughton acted as a courier between the Richards and the mail carriers.
Once Richards obtained the stolen credit cards, he worked with Justin Forgenie, who allegedly provided the personal information needed to activate and use the cards.
Richards then gave the cards to Tatiana Smith, who used them to make purchases at multiple stores, including Hermes, Bloomingdale's, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Neiman Marcus, Best Buy, and Macy's. She was instructed to buy items that could be easily resold or returned for store credit, which was then sold for cash.
Two others, Suzana Mikhaylova and Daniel Mikhylova, were charged for allegedly processing fictitious charges at a jewelry store they owned.
"This holiday season, we know that identity thieves will be targeting not just our inboxes, but our mailboxes," said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. "So, we're putting scammers on notice: the Manhattan D.A.'s Office has the expertise, resources, and partnerships in cybercrime and identity theft to find you and hold you accountable. We will continue to work hand-in-hand with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the NYPD to stamp out fraud and protect the integrity of a service relied upon by millions of New Yorkers."
The defendants have all been charged with the following crimes:
- Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, three counts
- Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class D felony, twelve counts
- Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony, eight counts
- Petit Larceny, A misdemeanor, one count
- Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony, one count
- Identity Theft in the First Degree, a class D felony, thirteen counts
- Identity Theft in the Second Degree, a class E felony, nine counts
- Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony, twenty-two counts