By REBECCA HARSHBARGER and CHRISTINA CARREGA
Cops broke up the biggest ID theft in American history after busting 111 people who allegedly made bogus credit cards as part of a Queens-based scam that cost consumers, banks and retailers a whopping $13 million, authorities said today.
The alleged scammers — members of five organized forged credit card and identity theft rings — had ties to Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, the NYPD and Queens DA’s office said at a news conference.
ELLIS KAPLAN
Some of the alleged members of the nation’s biggest identify theft ring.
“This is by far the largest – and certainly among the most sophisticated – identity theft/credit card fraud cases that law enforcement has come across,” said Queens DA Richard Brown. “Credit card fraud and identity theft are two of the fastest growing crimes in the United States, afflicting millions of victims and costing billions of dollars in losses to consumers, businesses and financial institutions.
The people arrested are charged in 10 indictments with stealing the personal credit information of thousands of American and European consumers, costing the cardholders, financial institutions and retail businesses more than $13 million in losses over a 16-month period.
The Post first reported today that the NYPD had made the arrests in the sweeping credit card mega swipe scam.
Eighty-six of the defendants are in custody, while another 25 are wanted, authorities said.
Also, cops said nearly two dozen people were charged in six indictments with participating in burglaries and robberies throughout Queens. The Queens DA’s office said four defendants were charged with conspiring to commit a bank robbery in Forest Hills.
Five are charged with stealing more than $95,000 worth of cargo from Kennedy Airport and seven are accused of stealing approximately $850,000 worth of computer equipment from the Citigroup Building in Long Island City, the DA said.
Some of the alleged members of the nation’s biggest identify theft ring.
