Brooklyn man charged with large-scale identity theft targeting Queens residents in mail fraud scheme: DA – QNS

A Brooklyn man has been charged with possession of stolen property, identity theft and other offenses after a court-ordered search turned up a number of stolen bank checks, credit cards, debit cards and driver’s licenses in his Crown Heights apartment. .

The investigation began when a Laurelton A resident reported fraudulent charges to a credit card that had been ordered but never received, prompting the Queens District Attorney’s Office to take action.

Jameel Brown, 32, of Sterling Place, was arraigned Tuesday in Queens Criminal Court on a 243-count complaint accusing him of running a large-scale mail theft operation. Brown’s girlfriend, Kadia Korke, was also arrested after the warrant was executed. Cork, 31, of New Jersey Avenue in Brooklyn, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Tuesday on a criminal complaint charging her with unlawful possession of stolen property and other related offenses.

According to the charges and investigation, a Laurelton resident tried to use her credit card to make a purchase on Sept. 19, but the transaction was declined. After checking the account statements, the victim saw several unrecognized and unauthorized charges on the account.

A few days earlier, the victim applied for an additional credit card in her husband’s name on the same account, but never received it. The incident was investigated by the Queens District Attorney’s Office of Criminal Strategies and Intelligence and the NYPD’s Financial Crimes Task Force. Bank records showed the additional card was sent to the victim’s address and activated on September 19 using a phone number later linked to Brown.

After fraudulently activating the victim’s credit card, six unauthorized charges were made at various retail locations, including Party City in Queens, a liquor store in Nassau County and a store in the Bronx. The card was later declined after Brown allegedly tried to use it at various restaurants and retail stores in Brooklyn more than five times. Video surveillance obtained by law enforcement showed Brown at various locations where he made the alleged fraudulent purchases, and historical location information provided pursuant to a court order also showed that Brown’s cell phone was present at the locations of the alleged fraudulent transactions.

On the morning of Monday, October 28, law enforcement officers executed a court-ordered search warrant at Brown’s home, where he was found with co-defendant Cork, and both were arrested.

A total of 89 credit cards, 88 debit cards, 11 community cards, 18 driver’s licenses and more than a dozen checks, including those made out to St. Clare Catholic Academy in Laurelton, a small water and heating utility that is a member of the Excavators Union and several checks issued to Queens residents by the U.S. Treasury Department were recovered from the apartment. None of the seized documents were issued in the name of any of the defendants. The approximate amount of all seized funds is estimated at more than 125 thousand dollars.

Additionally, approximately $11,000 in cash was seized at the scene. Police also seized 15 mobile phones, an embossing machine, a magnetic stripe reader and coding machine, printers and check printing materials, and other items related to the production of fake documents and credit/debit cards. The investigation also revealed that since January, Brown made a total of 352 phone calls to toll-free numbers connected to automated systems and customer service lines for EBT, Chase Bank, TD Bank and American Express cards.

“The defendant allegedly orchestrated a large-scale mail theft operation targeting innocent victims to steal their bank accounts, credit cards and public assistance funds in order to line his own pockets,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “Identity theft is a serious crime that can have a lasting impact on a person’s credit score, ability to buy real estate or even rent an apartment.”

Queens Criminal Court Judge Edward Daniels ordered Brown to return to court on Nov. 19. If convicted on the top count, he faces a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

“Thanks to a resident who came forward and further work by my Bureau of Crime and Intelligence, the person believed to be responsible was apprehended and hundreds of confidential documents were recovered,” Katz said.

Judge Edwards ordered Cork to return to court on December 11. If convicted on the top count, Cork faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.