NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Four people accused of operating an identity theft ring across New York City were charged after they allegedly stole $500,000 from multiple victims, including a Brooklyn public school Parent Teacher Association, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced on Monday.
Ringleader Akeem Henry, 36, and his alleged coconspirators Michael Nolan, 38; Devaugh Frase, 31; and Ramoy Sutherland, 34, are charged with grand larceny, identity theft and money laundering, among other counts. Henry is also charged with scheme to defraud.
The men are accused of accessing multiple victims’ phone numbers through SIM-swapping (the transfer of a victim’s phone number to a phone owned by the scammer), stealing debit and credit cards from the mail and draining victims’ bank accounts, prosecutors said.
The first reported scheme occurred on June 28, 2022, when a home health aide contacted T-Mobile and reported that his cellphone count no longer send or receive text messages or phone calls. He received a new SIM card at a store the next day.
Prosecutors said that the victim’s debit card declined at the grocery store later that day, and when he logged into his bank account, he noticed that his life savings—over $74,000—were drained to nothing. He has not yet received back those funds.
Within a day, the identity theft ring allegedly used his tens of thousands of dollars to purchase products and gift cards at Apple stores across the city.
The ring allegedly repeated this scheme over a dozen times, and prosecutors said that Henry’s phone contained images of numerous other stolen credit cards as well as encrypted communications that involved him sharing the personal identifying information of other potential victims.
Henry allegedly used the money to maintain a lavish lifestyle with purchases that included trips on private jets and international vacations. Other members of the ring also traveled abroad after receiving their cut of the stolen funds.
Nolan, Fraser and Sutherlank were allegedly wired stolen funds by other members of the ring and laundered the cash through certified checks, money orders and cash withdrawals.
The ring also allegedly drained over $300,000 from a Brooklyn public school PTA and $85,000 from the account of a Polish-American couple on vacation in Poland, leaving them stranded without access to their phones or funds.
“Each of these accounts, from a public-school PTA’s operating funds to a home health aide’s life savings, was drained within days,” Bragg said. “We allege this operation stole credit and debit cards from the mail, and then activated them by taking over the victims’ phone numbers, before withdrawing cash, wiring funds, or going on shopping sprees. Fast-acting scams like these are on the rise, and we urge consumers to be vigilant when monitoring their accounts.”