moneyman99
Professional
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/..._Mx4LbVSdoUw2ESRAX7LsqO?CMP=OTC-rss&FEEDNAME=
London had its “Lavender Hill Mob” — now Brooklyn has the Vinegar Hill gang.
FBI agents have arrested a group they say operated a fraud ring out of a luxury high-rise condo on Bridge Street in the increasingly trendy neighborhood that abuts DUMBO and offers sweeping Manhattan views.
The development marks an unusual turn for the pricey and normally crime-free neighborhood.
The feds say alleged ringleader Kwan Miller lived in the BridgeView Tower, an exclusive building that provides a “full-service” 24-hour concierge, a fitness room, indoor parking, and free shuttle services to Manhattan and nearby subway stations.
Although it may seem like an unlikely place to headquarter a fraud scheme, FBI agents were tipped by an informant that Miller was allegedly using ICQ — a European instant messaging service — to obtain stolen credit card numbers during chats with his contacts inside Russia, officials say.
During the course of an identity theft probe that began over a year ago, investigators intercepted e-mails sent by Miller that contained numbers for more than 100 credit cards, according to a report written by FBI agent Stacey Sullivan.
Other e-mail messages listed numbers for holders of American Express Platinum, Gold and Blue cards, Visa Gold credit cards, details on JP Morgan Chase cardholders, as well as other credit and debit cardholders’ information, the report says.
Then Miller — whose nickname is “Don Kwan” — bought “numerous specialty printers” used to emboss numbers and other encoded information on plastic credit card blanks, the feds say.
He later ordered printing supplies for those special machines and had them delivered directly to the tony BridgeView high-rise in Vinegar Hill, according to a report filed by Brooklyn Assistant US Attorney Tyler Smith.
The feds say that Miller, with the help of several women who are his friends, then imprinted stolen credit card numbers onto the plastic card blanks to create counterfeit credit cards sporting the names of the stolen identities.
The group also manufactured phony identification cards using these stolen identities, officials say.
Then the fraud gang fanned out across New York City and used the cards to make purchases in retail stores - later selling the goods for cash, prosecutors say.
So far, American Express alone says it has identified more than $500,000 in losses from card holders in several states that are directly connected to the fraud scheme - and the totals are expected to grow considerably, the feds say.
As the fraud gang was busy pumping out phony credit cards, Miller was still on probation for similar illegal activities in the recent past, officials say.
In 2007 — using the name “Kwan Thomas” — Miller pleaded guilty to an earlier credit card fraud scheme and was sentenced to 39 months in federal prison, records show.
Miller also operates his own urban clothing label - “Blak Republik” - that is unrelated to the alleged credit card fraud scheme.
A Brooklyn federal judge denied Miller’s efforts to be released on bail as he awaits trial on the fraud charges.
London had its “Lavender Hill Mob” — now Brooklyn has the Vinegar Hill gang.
FBI agents have arrested a group they say operated a fraud ring out of a luxury high-rise condo on Bridge Street in the increasingly trendy neighborhood that abuts DUMBO and offers sweeping Manhattan views.
The development marks an unusual turn for the pricey and normally crime-free neighborhood.
The feds say alleged ringleader Kwan Miller lived in the BridgeView Tower, an exclusive building that provides a “full-service” 24-hour concierge, a fitness room, indoor parking, and free shuttle services to Manhattan and nearby subway stations.
Although it may seem like an unlikely place to headquarter a fraud scheme, FBI agents were tipped by an informant that Miller was allegedly using ICQ — a European instant messaging service — to obtain stolen credit card numbers during chats with his contacts inside Russia, officials say.
During the course of an identity theft probe that began over a year ago, investigators intercepted e-mails sent by Miller that contained numbers for more than 100 credit cards, according to a report written by FBI agent Stacey Sullivan.
Other e-mail messages listed numbers for holders of American Express Platinum, Gold and Blue cards, Visa Gold credit cards, details on JP Morgan Chase cardholders, as well as other credit and debit cardholders’ information, the report says.
Then Miller — whose nickname is “Don Kwan” — bought “numerous specialty printers” used to emboss numbers and other encoded information on plastic credit card blanks, the feds say.
He later ordered printing supplies for those special machines and had them delivered directly to the tony BridgeView high-rise in Vinegar Hill, according to a report filed by Brooklyn Assistant US Attorney Tyler Smith.
The feds say that Miller, with the help of several women who are his friends, then imprinted stolen credit card numbers onto the plastic card blanks to create counterfeit credit cards sporting the names of the stolen identities.
The group also manufactured phony identification cards using these stolen identities, officials say.
Then the fraud gang fanned out across New York City and used the cards to make purchases in retail stores - later selling the goods for cash, prosecutors say.
So far, American Express alone says it has identified more than $500,000 in losses from card holders in several states that are directly connected to the fraud scheme - and the totals are expected to grow considerably, the feds say.
As the fraud gang was busy pumping out phony credit cards, Miller was still on probation for similar illegal activities in the recent past, officials say.
In 2007 — using the name “Kwan Thomas” — Miller pleaded guilty to an earlier credit card fraud scheme and was sentenced to 39 months in federal prison, records show.
Miller also operates his own urban clothing label - “Blak Republik” - that is unrelated to the alleged credit card fraud scheme.
A Brooklyn federal judge denied Miller’s efforts to be released on bail as he awaits trial on the fraud charges.
