Federal authorities saw through the scam.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say a gang of credit card fraudsters charged thousands of dollars to stolen accounts to buy high-end glasses that they sold for a profit.
Last week, three reputed gang members were arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on six charges detailing alleged fraud carried out by the crew since at least 2020.
Brian Palmer, 24, Jasmine Copeland, 21, and Terry Brown, 24, all of whom had lengthy rap sheets, were charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, and bank fraud. , was charged with aggravated identity theft.
“These scammers have no foresight,” one law enforcement official told The Post on Tuesday. “The same old con artists, the same old criminals — gang members, career criminals, murderers — they seek to optimize every opportunity to profit and profit.”
Law enforcement officials said the investigation into the fraud began with a man who opened a fake credit account in his own name at Synchrony Bank and bought $20,000 worth of glasses at Cohen’s Fashion Optical in Bayside, Queens. It started with a woman from Staten Island who was
Bank investigators investigated the incident and found that the fraud also occurred at three other Cohen stores in Nassau and Suffolk counties, where fake credit cards were used to purchase glasses and a series of other It was sold at the store, officials said.
The FBI investigated the case and began surveillance of the suspects. Sources said the suspects belong to street gangs Snow Gang, Boss Family and Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation.
Federal prosecutors arrested three gang members last week after a grand jury indicted them on April 10.
Palmer, known as a member of the Boss Family, has been arrested more than a dozen times since 2011, including for weapons possession, theft and resisting arrest.
Copeland has been arrested seven times since 2012 on charges ranging from forgery to robbery.
Officials said Brown, who is believed to be a member of the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation crew, has been arrested six times on charges including gang assault, assault and possession of illegal weapons.
